A Few Steps Closer
by silver-moon-sapphire-sky
Summary: Sequel to 'One Step Forward'. I have returned and written the final chapter after such a long break- sorry! Anyway- the Soutaicho is taking a break, will Seireitei ever recover? Meanwhile Unohana has chosen to raise an important 'issue!
1. Chapter 1: A Lack of Progress

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed 'One Step Forward'- all of you told me what I needed to hear. I hadn't completed the story I began, and this is my attempt at doing so. **

**This is dedicated to those sweet reviewers (you know who you are), because without your encouragement, I wouldn't have written this at all.**

**I apologise for taking a little longer than I expected to write this. But I am a little bit of a perfectionist and I'd rather take longer to do a better job, than do a quick, worse job.**

**Anyway, once again, thanks for the encouragement and please enjoy this sequel to 'One Step Forward'. **

**By the way, I don't own Bleach- it belongs to Tite Kubo- Yay I finally remembered to do a disclaimer!**

**-Oh, and for people who haven't read the prequel, I'd recommend reading it, but (I am fully prepared to admit that I am biased) I think you'd probably be able to understand this piece without reading it.**

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Chapter One: A Lack of Progress

Hinamori Momo was calmly, quietly and carefully completing her paperwork.

Well… she was fairly quiet- except when she screwed the messed up papers into a ball, threw them at the wastepaper basket and missed.

She wasn't really that calm either, she had a black aura around her- indicating that an evil mood was upon the sweet girl.

As for the paperwork being calmly completed… well, her taicho would have settled for her merely completing the paperwork, even if it wasn't done calmly. Unfortunately, neither was happening.

He could only work with her in his vicinity for so long. It wasn't just because she wasn't calm or quiet or because she wasn't getting anything done; it was because he couldn't get anything done when she was behaving like that.

It wasn't exactly distracting, but something about being near her when she was like this was extremly disturbing.

"Hinamori- please take the rest of the afternoon off," he ordered quietly.

She blinked, and looked at him, "taicho?" she asked, apparently surprised.

"I can complete all the paperwork and I think you need some time off," he said.

She sighed, "Arigato taicho," and she stood up and left without another word.

Kurosaki Ichigo still wondered how exactly he'd been blackmailed into becoming a temporary taicho for the fifth division. They'd assured him that it wasn't permanent and that he'd be released from duty the minute a more suitable candidate was found.

He wasn't sure if it was flattering or worrying that over a year after he'd been appointed they still hadn't found anyone more suitable than him.

Kon meanwhile got the run of Karakura in Ichigo's body… and that was a scary thing… on his first day of school months after his appointment he had been chased by half the female population. It turned out Kon had worked out certain skills… and was now the most sort after bachelor in Karakura- he'd beaten Mizuro into the ground by dating thirty models at one time. Mizuro's record was still only thirteen at one time, he was working on beating Kon, but there wasn't much hope. While Keigo was sadly still not dating anyone.

Ichigo was still disturbed by the concept in general, although Kon had learned to leave Rukia, Tatsuki, Inoue and any female Shinigami alone. He'd made the mistake of hitting on Hinamori in front of Toshiro.

The shortest of the taichos had dragged the pervert firmly outside with him. No one knew what had been said or done, but Kon been turned off women in black uniforms ever since. He'd also avoided Toshiro like the plague, Ichigo still wondered what the chibi's secret was.

Rukia walked into his office, barely knocking, and not waiting for permission, with a large stack of paperwork. Ichigo eyed it nervously.

"Oi, midget, what are you doing with that?" he demanded.

At least being a taicho meant he could insult Rukia as much as he wanted… and she had to be nice back. There were some perks with this job.

He couldn't see her glare but he felt it and mentally congratulated himself.

"Ukitate-taicho told me to give this to you. Apparently it's the favour you owe him for last month," she informed him tightly.

"All of it," Ichigo gasped, staring in utter horror at the huge pile.

"Every, last, piece, of, paper," Rukia almost purred, with a slow and deliberate emphasis on the words, he could clearly hear the satisfaction in her voice.

He'd gotten into a slight bind with his paperwork last month.

Okay… it had been a major problem, and Ukitate had sorted it out for him. The deal had been that in return he'd complete a stack of paperwork for the other taicho, to repay him for sorting out the mess.

Looking at the stack now, he wondered if it had truly been worth it. He hadn't realised that Ukitate was so sharp as to take advantage of him like that. Unfortunately a promise was a promise.

"Put it down beside my desk," he sighed- why hadn't Rukia come a few moments earlier? Then he wouldn't have let Hinamori have the afternoon off… it still would have been useless considering how little work the girl had done that day. It would have been better to have someone to suffer through the work with though.

Rukia looked at Hinamori's empty desk with a raised eyebrow.

"I gave her the afternoon off- she was in a mood," he explained.

She looked at the door, then back at him and sighed.

"I can stay for an hour," she offered and sat down at Hinamori's desk, starting on the pile of paperwork beside it.

He stared at her for a few moments, before he got back to his own work.

'_Arigato Rukia,'_

* * *

Momo paced around the fifth division gardens, she wasn't merely angry, or in a bad mood. She was furious, in a black rage, and she was ready to kill!

Unfortunately there were no division members in need of training or punishing. Her taicho was too busy to spar with her, and no hollow was obliging enough to show up in the middle of fifth division so she could obliterate it.

She had vague idea of going over to the eleventh division and screaming that Zaraki-taicho was a coward who should come out and face her. If nothing else, it would guarantee her a fight… but it would probably also guarantee her a painful death.

Except that it wouldn't solve the problem. Nothing would, and so she continued pacing.

She smacked her hand into a tree, she couldn't go on like this- or she probably would go and challenge Zaraki-taicho eventually. She cradled her aching hand, (the large tree was a lot harder than her small hand) she obviously needed to take steps to solve the problem. She began pacing again.

'_Hitsugaya-kun, why are you doing this to me?'_

And just like that the rage subsided and she came perilously close to tears. She came to a halt and settled herself under the tree, grateful that no one would see her crying like this. It was all so ridiculous; her emotions had been all over the place.

Perhaps it was proof that she wasn't fully over the depression that had been her entire existence almost a year earlier. It was certainly proof that she was a dependent type of person. She'd not even got over Aizen when Hitsugaya-kun had become her main reason for existence.

Momo was so tired of these feelings. She couldn't control them or eradicate them, and they'd been the bane of her existence for the past year. It had been hard enough rediscovering her own strength and repairing the relationships she'd ruined by believing in Aizen. But to be in love with Hitsugaya-kun so desperately… that had been the worst.

It had become an even more impossible situation than her feelings for Aizen, at least she'd been able to see Aizen every day. Hitsugaya-kun was on the other side of Seireitei, and both of them were very busy with their respective divisions.

She hated that more than anything. She hated not being able to see him everyday, not hearing his voice or having his hand brush lightly over hers.

Sometimes she hated Hitsugaya-kun for inspiring these feelings as much as she loved him. Then he appeared and everything, all of her strength disappeared, leaving her a lovesick fool at his mercy.

At least he seemed not to notice her making a complete spectacle of herself, which was probably the only blessing in her current situation.

He had to be the only one who didn't know; there was no keeping anything a secret; if Rangik-san knew something, then all of Seireitei also knew it.

'_What do I do?'_

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro was currently feeling very content; his fukutaicho was nowhere near the office and neither was he. He'd managed to do his paperwork- she'd actually helped for once, in exchange for throwing a sake party in the division (she'd promised that it would be small and that she would clean up after it, so he thought it would be alright), and so they had both finished early.

He ran a hand threw his hair, smoothed his white haori, and adjusted the green sash around his chest, making sure that the gold star was centred. He then walked confidently out of his office, he was quite happy in the last month that he'd grown a few inches taller.

It was a small achievement, since all of his colleagues- even Soifon were still taller than him, but at least it was something that made him feel better.

He could finally look Hinamori directly in the eye- they were the same height for once. He'd been waiting for that since the first day he'd known her, she'd always irritated him by being taller.

He'd never tell her that though, she'd probably never understand, but he'd always felt slightly ridiculous protecting a girl who was taller than him. The man was supposed to be the taller, stronger person in the couple- he was defying history and inviting people to mock him by being shorter!

The boy was supposed to be taller, older, stronger and generally charming, he wasn't supposed to tease or annoy her… and maybe if he'd followed the rules, she wouldn't have…

Aizen was past; and Toshiro stopped any thoughts in that direction. She was over Aizen, and that was at least something he'd done for her. It didn't feel like enough at the moment though, nothing did.

Even now, almost a year on from the New Year's party, he worried every day that he was dreaming, and that he would wake up to find her still mourning Aizen. He was relieved every morning to discover he wasn't dreaming, that this was all real, and as much as he'd love to openly check up on her, he didn't. He wasn't a baka; checking up on her everyday would make her feel coddled. Hinamori hated being babied, and was especially sensitive about being fussed over since recovering from her depression over Aizen.

So he controlled himself carefully, he checked on her at least once a week, by inviting her out to dinner or tea. If he wasn't terribly inundated (and sometimes even if he was) he'd also stop by fifth division to pass on any mixed up paperwork.

He'd also go there to irritate Kurosaki by giving him advice on how to act more like a taicho. Annoying Kurosaki was just a bonus; his true motive was always to check on Hinamori.

As it was, he usually received word of her during the day as well, either by his own observation, or by the remarks of others- especially Matsumoto.

He walked over to the fifth division's gate, took a deep breath and walked in. Hinamori was his precious childhood friend, but even going to talk to her made his stomach twist. He knew he was in love with her, he had been for years, but he refused to take advantage of her or push her.

She was still recovering from the betrayal of nearly three years earlier and Aizen's execution of two years earlier. He knew better than most that feelings like those couldn't just be dismissed or changed so easily, no matter how much it hurt or how frustrating it was.

And it was frustrating, but Toshiro had not become a taicho or mastered his bankai without learning how to control himself. On the outside he was ice, on the inside he was melting, jelly, bouncing one way and then another.

'_It feels like we just keep going around in circles, the same thing again and again…'_

* * *

Momo wasn't just on a mission; she was on a war, a rampage- a crusade!

She knew that she wasn't the only woman in Seireitei with man problems- there wasn't a woman alive without them. Admittedly some- such as Yachiru-chan's were not romantic in nature, but others, such as almost every other female Shinigami's, were romantic troubles.

Why were men- even ones who were supernatural, so thick?

How hard could reading the signals be?

Was it just her, or were all men BAKAS??

Momo was just slightly frustrated that morning. Unfortunately the cause of her irritation was walking quite calmly into her division- probably going to see Kurosaki-taicho.

But instead of heading to the office, he changed direction, and it took her a few moments to realise that he was walking towards her. Woman's instinct took over and she quickly tugged her uniform as straighter, and pulled her fringe back off her face, hooking the longest pieces behind her ears. She was glad that he was walking so slowly, and he didn't notice her panicking.

"Yo Hinamori," he called out the minute he was in polite talking range.

"Ohaiyo Hitsugaya-kun," she replied, trying to sound calm. There were butterflies in her stomach, her heart was all but jumping out of her chest, and calm was not easy to summon.

"Are you alright?" he asked, obviously quite concerned about her, apparently she'd missed calm and normal by a long shot. He knew her too well- so why didn't he know that **he** was what was wrong with her?

And then do something about it?

Hitsugaya-kun was never easily riled, even if he did tend to rely on emotions and instinct, and she knew that, but HOW COULD HE BE SO CALM??

It wasn't natural; surely she wasn't the only one who felt this… this… build up between them! Why couldn't he feel it?

Why didn't he say anything about it?

What was wrong with him?

Was she completely crazy?

"I'm fine," she lied, and his eyebrows rose- she was still a lousy liar, but he let it pass for the minute.

"I've got some time off, so I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together this afternoon," he said smoothly.

'_Together?'_

Momo's head was spinning, everything was too hot and her knees were weak. She would have fallen if he hadn't caught her, but that made her feel a strange combination of better and worse. He was warm and he had the faint dry smell of ice and cedar on his skin.

"Hinamori, I think you've got a fever," he pressed his wrist to her forehead and compared her temperature to his own.

"No, I'm perfectly fine," she whispered leaning into him, she felt completely dazed and she really did not want to move.

"Hinamori," he began in his patient tone. It was the one that made her feel guilty, one that brought her deepest secrets into the light of day and one that made her remember that he would always be there to listen to her.

"Hitsugaya-kun, please," she cut him off before he could get her to convince her to tell him everything. She rested her full weight on him, "please, can we stay like this?" she didn't want to move, ever.

He pulled her into his arms, one hand sliding under her knees, the other supporting her back. He carried her over to one of the largest trees and sat down, carefully, with her resting in his lap. She fell asleep like that, her hands clenched in his white haori, her head resting on his shoulder, his fingers running gently along her cheek.

* * *

Ichigo had lost track of the hour long ago, and he was surprised to see Rukia, still in the office, hours after she'd first arrived. She was asleep at the desk, one hand still holding the ink brush tightly.

He placed his own ink brush away, stacking the remaining unfinished paperwork neatly, placing the completed work carefully in the right trays. He then went over to Rukia, who didn't stir; he pulled her back off the desk and picked her up carefully. She was still holding the ink brush, and he didn't have the heart to pry it out of her fingers, he'd ask her to return it later.

There were ink smudges on her face, and she moved faintly in his arms, shifting until she was comfortable. He smiled; she looked so small, so helpless when she was like this- almost nothing like when she was awake.

Ichigo cradled her gently and walked out of the office, heading to the thirteenth division. He didn't pass too many people, but it was enough. He had the nasty feeling that Byakuya was going to challenge him in the morning, and possibly Renji as well.

He met Ukitate just after entering the thirteenth division. He also met Byakuya, Zaraki, Kyoraku and Komamura exiting the thirteenth division. It wasn't just bad timing, it was the worst timing possible.

"Kurosaki," Byakuya somehow made just the one word sound completely ominous.

"Rukia fell asleep helping me with paperwork," he said quickly, with large emphasis on the last word.

Byakuya glared at him suspiciously, so Ichigo held the sleeping Rukia out as a peace offering. Byakuya took her gently, and after one more lethal glare he turned on heel, back into the thirteenth division, taking her to her room.

Zaraki looked far too amused, and Komamura gave him an inquisitive look, but both moved on. Unfortunately Kyoraku and Ukitate decided to stay, and when he tried to leave, they blocked him with exasperating ease.

"So, will there be wedding bells Kurosaki?" Kyoraku asked, with a lecherous grin that reminded him of his father.

He managed to resist the urge to punch his fellow taicho in the face.

"So, how long was Kuchiki doing paperwork with you?" Ukitate asked, changing the subject.

"About five hours," Ichigo said without thinking.

"I'll be borrowing Hinamori-san for five hours when I get a build up then," Ukitate announced quite calmly.

Ichigo blinked in horror… he owed Ukitate another favour? Bloody hell the white-haired taicho was devious.

"So, Kurosaki, before Byakuya comes back, tell me- how was it?"

Ichigo turned bright red, "we didn't do anything except paperwork!" he protested.

"But you're a teenager, full of hormones, and Kuchiki's so kawaii- What's wrong with you?" Kyoraku demanded, and then suddenly looked horrified, "are you gay?"

"NO!" Ichigo shouted.

"Then why didn't you-" Kyoraku began asking.

"Rukia and I are just friends! We aren't like that!" Ichigo yelled, and he walked out of the division very stiffly.

"He is just as bad at lying at Hitsugaya is," Kyoraku observed.

"Who do you think will confess first?" Ukitate asked.

"Only time will tell," Kyoraku proclaimed with ironic wisdom.

"And make someone very rich," Ukitate added wryly.

"Are you in the betting pool too?" Kyoraku asked, sounding far too excited.

"Kyoraku don't be silly, these are people's emotions, not a horse race," Ukitate said sharply.

"Well my money was on Kurosaki, but now after talking with him… I think that the tensai is a better investment," Kyoraku commented, sounding disgusted.

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Momo woke up to twisted sheets, tangled hair and loose clothes. It was far too hot, and she sat up abruptly, throwing off the sheets and blankets. She was momentarily disorientated, but finally realised that she was in her room.

She realised by the darkness outside that she must have been asleep for several hours, and she had been tucked into her own bed. She also recognised the medicine that was sitting beside her bed- Unohana's fever remedy.

Why hadn't he listened to her?

She had told him she didn't have a fever, and if anyone would know, it would be her. It was her body damnit!

Her Zanpakto had been neatly placed in its rack; the pile of books had been stacked alphabetically into her bookshelf. He'd closed her windows, and taken her extra blankets out of the chest and put them on her bed. No wonder she'd been hot.

Momo felt like screaming- what kind of right did he have to come over, make her sick, then act like a gentleman , clean up her room and take care of her like that??

This had gone far enough, it was official – this time she was GOING TO KILL HIM!!

* * *

On the other side of Seireitei Hitsugaya Toshiro stopped in the middle of paperwork. For some reason a very cold shiver had just run down his spine. Something definitely felt very wrong, but he had no idea why or what.

Matsumoto Rangiku, stopped drinking sake on the couch with Kira and Shuhei looked at her taicho. He'd just stopped dead in the middle of paperwork mid-character, ink brush dripping black ink onto the page.

"Taicho, is something wrong?" she slurred.

The look on his face reminded her of a man confronted by his wife when he has forgotten his twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. He looked completely terrified for a few seconds, and since she could count on one hand the number of people who could terrify him outright, she wondered what was so wrong.

"No, it's nothing," Toshiro said quickly.

For the briefest instant he had seen an image of a furious Hinamori in his mind, but he shook it off.

Hinamori got angry so rarely, and besides it took a lot to anger her. It was ridiculous to even consider her being angry, there was no reason for it.

He shook off the warning/nagging feeling at the back of his mind and returned to his paperwork. He crumpled up the useless page his ink brush had been dripping onto and started on a fresh one.

It was thirty seconds later when her reiatsu soared that he regretted not running when he had the chance. She was scarier than Zaraki when she was mad, and somehow he just knew that she was coming for him. Toshiro didn't have the faintest idea why though.

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That's it for chapter one, I hope you enjoyed. I promise to update soon, and there will be more RukiaxIchigo in later scenes and possibly other pairings, but it will continue to be mainly MomoxToshiro.

**Please R & R- I welcome all comments; complementary and critical (although I'd rather no abusive flamers), because I am genuinely interested in your opinions. I can't improve my stories without them.**

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Translation of Japanese Words:

_Arigato-_ Thank you

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Chibi-_ Short/Small

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_ Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Ohaiyo-_ Good Morning/Good Day (more casual/familiar form of greeting than konichiwa)

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_ This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_ The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	2. Chapter 2: Bringing Issues to a Head

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter- I'm sure you understand how important the feedback and encouragement generated by reviews helps. So really thank you.**

**Anyway, please enjoy chapter two... I hope it begins to clear up any confusion the first chapter raised, sorry if Momo's anger took you by surprise.**

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Chapter Two: Bringing Issues to a Head

Hitsugaya-kun had left her robes on, only loosening the sash around her waist to make sure she was comfortable. He'd even taken her hair out of the bun, placing the cloth and ribbon beside her Zanpakto. There was also a glass of water waiting for her with a small cup full of pills- her next dose of medicine, how fucking thoughtful…

Momo threw the glass out the window, breaking the delicate shoji, and tossed the pills out of it as well, making another hole. She jumped out of her futon, and for good measure kicked it several times. She left it completely messy and stared at it in satisfaction for a few minutes.

There, that would show that- that- BAKA NEAT FREAK!!

She grabbed her Zanpakto, "HAJIKE TOBIUME!" she yelled.

She couldn't have cared less that this was breaking a very important rule about appropriate situations for Zanpakto release; it was a matter of principle. She let her reiatsu loose, forming a burning halo around herself.

Momo stalked out of her room.

So what if he was a taicho and at least five times more powerful than her?

Or if he was an ice wielder and had a really big advantage over her fire-based attacks?

And who cared if he'd beaten her many times before, in casual sparing matches?

SHE WAS GOING TO ANNIHILATE HIM!!

* * *

Abarai Renji saw what looked like Hinamori Momo glowing dark red, with her Zanpakto glowing pinkish-red, stalking towards the tenth division. Her hair was a mess, her robes were loose and she was leaving scorching footprints behind her. Her eyes were no longer dark brown, even the whites they glowed red, and her expression was truly frightening.

He blinked, and the only thing remaining was the heat and scorch marks of her presence. The completely drunk man shrugged this off, blaming the sake for the hallucinations before he collapsed, facedown, onto one of her red-hot footprints.

The next day there would be a betting pool on who had burned their footprint into Renji's face. No one would ever believe that the hardworking, mild-tempered, Hinamori Momo was the culprit, even if it was unintentional.

Kuchiki Byakuya would spend the rest of the next day without his white haori- he was drinking tea when Renji entered the office and as a result there was some unfortunate spillage.

There would also be a strange rumour going around sixth that the taicho screamed like a girl when he was burned by the hot tea. As a result, Unohana Retsu, placed sixth division on her black list for a week.

-All divisions, usually when a high ranking officer, particularly a taicho, has a bad temper, end up on Retsu's bad list. She did not approve of those in charge misusing their power and taking out their temper on their subordinates, since it made more work for her.

The tenth division had been on her black list for the first week of Hitsugaya Toshiro's appointment as taicho. But the eleventh division has been on it ever since Kusajishi Yachiru and Zaraki Kenpatchi's arrival, over a century earlier.

They've made the record and are quite proud of it, although still fearful of the woman.

* * *

Renji wasn't the only one to witness the angry, lovesick woman. The guards stationed at the gates for the tenth division seriously debated about opening the gate for her, even if she was a close friend of their taicho. They were left little choice though, since she showed no signs of stopping, and her reiatsu flared hotter with each second.

They decided that since no door would keep her out, or barrier, since she was a kido-master, it was better to let her in. At least then they would not need to buy a new gate, but they all took several large steps back when she entered the division. She didn't notice them though, she walked straight past, heading towards their taicho's office.

They were obviously supposed to protect their taicho with all of their strength in these situations. However Hinamori-fukutaicho was more powerful than they were… so there was little point in that. She was also faster than they were, so there was no way that they could warn the taicho… he would probably feel her reiatsu any way. He was overly sensitive to Hinamori-fukutaicho in every sense of the phrase.

They wondered what exactly was going on- everyone had thought that Hinamori-fukutaicho was in love with Hitsugaya-taicho. Had he crossed the line and taken advantage of her?

It might explain the loosened robes… but did that mean that Hitsugaya-taicho was no longer a virgin?

Either way, the woman was clearly dangerous, her reiatsu steadily rising the closer she came to their commanding officer. The sight of Hisagi Shuhei- ninth division's fukutaicho, jumping out the window, decided their next movements.

The men at the gate exchanged quick looks, before running out of their division and closing the gates behind them. Setting up guard outside the gates… it was a safety precaution, and the only option they had. Hisagi Shuhei and Kira Izuru jumped over the wall and fled to their separate divisions, the squad members inside began following their example or banging on the gates to be let out.

The Shingamis' instincts were good… less than ten minutes after Hinamori Momo entered the tenth division… the taicho's office and many of the surrounding buildings were obliterated… completely.

The Shinigami cowering outside wondered who their new taicho would be… the wrath of angry women was not something any man could escape. Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia were a daily example of this.

* * *

Matsumoto Rangiku was not perhaps the most intelligent, sensible or precise of all the fukutaicho. But her instincts were good, and there was nothing wrong with her brain, no matter how much sake she consumed.

"Taicho… is that Momo-chan's reiatsu?" she asked, feeling a very hot presence approaching.

He paled, "hai…" and then added in a softer voice, words she wasn't meant to catch, "shimatta- she's really pissed,"

Kira Izuru and Hisagi Shuhei who had been close to passed out, quickly recovered, Kira muttered an inaudible excuse before fleeing, practically breaking down the door to do so. Shuhei didn't bother saying anything; he jumped out the window, and began running.

Rangiku wondered if fleeing was the best option at this point, but her curiosity had always been something of a weakness. She had never seen an angry Momo-chan, besides she did have a duty to protect her taicho, she'd feel a little guilty leaving him alone to face… this…

His face was as white as his hair. She was surprised that he hadn't remembered that he was a taicho. Therefore he'd achieved bankai and that meant that he was a heck of a lot more powerful than her or Momo-chan.

She remembered hearing some documentary in the ningen world talking about lions and bulls and other such dangerous animals always respecting the person who'd raised them, even years after they'd grown up.

She supposed it was along similar lines, he'd always fear Momo-chan's temper, because he'd feared it as a child. He'd always try to please Momo-chan, because he'd grown up wanting to please her, wanting to make her happy, wanting to protect her and love her. It wasn't merely a habit, it was part of his personality, it was who he was.

Momo-chan felt the same way- it was obvious, she always checked on him, to make sure he was eating well. She worried when he got a fever, she worried when he was away on a mission; in short, she never seemed to stop worrying about him.

Momo-chan also felt guilty for days after when they argued, and still couldn't remove the guilt she carried about the Aizen-betrayal, it didn't matter how many people told her not to feel guilty. Momo-chan would probably carry guilt about raising Tobiume against Hitsugaya-taicho for the rest of her life.

It was probably strange that Momo-chan was not terrified of Hitsugaya-taicho's temper, actually… nothing about him or his power scared her in the slightest.

They had grown up together; they were an integral part of each other. The only person they knew how to love, with all of their hearts, was each other. They were ruined for anyone else, it was stupid that they hadn't got together; they were made for each other... they had made each other.

They were the truth behind the weird idea that every soul was one half of a whole, and only when joined in love with the right person could a soul truly be complete. They complemented and completed each other in a way no other person could.

She'd heard other women criticising childhood love, saying it was 'lame and stupid' to 'settle' for the first person you felt anything for. But, when you knew you were in love, it didn't matter if there had been one, ten or no lovers before you found the right person. It wasn't 'settling' in any way, it was choosing the only person you possibly could love, numbers and experience didn't matter at all, it was all about how you felt.

Rangiku would never admit how jealous she was of that certainty in the relationship between Momo-chan and her taicho. But she and Gin had made their choices, and had taken different paths. Besides, she had more than enough offers of dates, drinks and friends to keep her from becoming lonely.

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo was rudely awoken by a familiar reiatsu roaring into life on the other side of Seireitei. He gave himself the luxury of a few seconds to wonder why his fukutaicho was releasing so much angry power, before he grabbed his clothes and bolted over to the centre of the vortex- the tenth division.

'_What did Toshiro do to her?'_

Toshiro was the only reason Hinamori would go to the tenth division, but normally because she was invited, or because she was worried. Once even to make a surprise party, but this outrage present in her reiatsu… he'd not felt anything like this from her before.

Toshiro and she often irritated each other, but their bickering was as full of love and gentleness as any other interaction between them. She frustrated Toshiro and herself sometimes even, but neither of them had ever unleashed this kind of anger on top of the other.

Ichigo clearly heard a large explosion seconds before he reached the tenth division. He was joined by other taicho and fukutaicho within less than thirty seconds. They seemed just as surprised as he was.

A rather charred and scorched Rangiku-san emerged from the building, her uniform smoking, her breasts and face blackened. "I think they need some time to work this out," she said with a weak smile.

"They don't have that luxury," the Soutaicho snapped, moving forward into the ruins of the tenth division. He took a few steps and realised he was completely alone. He glared back at his fukutaicho and two oldest students, who reluctantly moved forward to join him.

The other taicho and fukutaicho also began gravitating forwards to follow the four men. The tenth division, with the exception of Matsumoto remained behind, hiding behind the gate.

Ichigo wasn't particularly happy when Rukia appeared, just as curious as the others, along with Kiyone, Sentaro, Ikkaku, Yumichika and Hanataro. They followed the taicho and fukutaicho into the tenth division.

He fell back, just slightly shortening his stride, so that he could walk beside her. Rukia was good at kido, but Hinamori was in another class altogether, only Ise could match her. If he was near her, he could at least shield her slightly from any attacks. Byakuya shot him a glare, and he saw Rangiku-san, Ise and Unohana smiling… perhaps he was being more obvious than he realised.

They walked in on something that they never expected to see.

"Hitsugaya?" gasped Kyoraku and Ukitate in one breath.

"Well, I did try to warn you," Rangik-san said brightly.

* * *

Momo walked into the tenth division office, she could tell that Hitsugaya-kun had been expecting her. He was sitting at his desk, hands folded, while Rangik-san was sitting at her desk, back straight, hands folded in the same manner. She actually looked serious, and Momo briefly wondered if the woman was quite alright. Then she looked at the source of her problem, and anger made her completely dismiss Rangik-san.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she shrieked.

He cringed, "Hinamori-" he began in a soft voice.

She refused to allow that persuasive voice to manipulate her this time. She brought Tobiume up and swung the Zanpakto down in a semi-circle, completely cutting through his desk and chair.

He ducked back easily enough, so she missed him. But the look on his face… it reminded her of when she'd jumped between him and Ichimaru, and then drawn her Zanpakto on him. That drew her sorrow and guilt over the Aizen mess afresh into her mind, but those emotions simply added to the confusing tumult already present.

All his hurt did was make her angrier, it was always him who put her into these positions. Why was it always him? She hated feeling like this; she hated him making her feel like this!

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS TO ME?" Momo raged, her reiatsu glowing brightly around the Zanpakto, and the furniture she'd sliced smoked and then dissolved into ash.

Rangik-san's mouth fell open, "taicho, maybe you should take this outside," she suggested, sounding quite scared.

Hitsugaya-kun was still looking at her, with those sad eyes, but even still, she could see behind them that his mind was at work. She knew he was looking for the quickest and safest way to resolve this- not only for himself, but for her.

"Why do you always try to decide things for me? Why can't you openly talk to me? I'm not glass or fragile- I'm perfectly fine!! Stop trying to persuade me to do what you think is best for me, if your concerned talk to me and explain why. But I'm sick of things not being as they should be!" she yelled at him.

His eyes widened faintly, "Hinamori," he protested.

"SHUT UP!" Momo yelled.

"NO YOU SHUT UP!" Hitsugaya suddenly roared back, "I'm not coddling you, I'm trying to be the best friend I can to you- and now you-you," he spluttered

"What, are you annoyed that you can't control me anymore?- You're just as bad as Aizen!" she shouted.

"If I'm as bad as Aizen, then you're worse than him and Ichimaru combined!" Hitsugaya-kun yelled.

"You're a hundred times more controlling than Aizen was!" she shrieked.

"Well you're just as manipulative as he was!" he shouted.

"I am not manipulative!" she protested.

"You forced me to coddle you, giving everyone that pathetic smile, saying you were okay, when you really weren't!" he mocked her, his hand slamming down on the broken desk with real rage.

"Ha! You admitted that you were coddling me!" she pointed out gleefully.

"You let me do it- why protest now? I've been doing it for a year!" he smirked.

Momo was silent; unfortunately he had a point…

She had let him do it, and the counter arguments "I didn't realise," and "You didn't give me a choice," were not going to be effective. They would undermine her underlying principle 'she was completely fine!'

She couldn't say anything to win this rather childish argument, so she did the next best thing. "Sanzai suru, kemono no kotsu! Sentō, kōshō, kōtetsu no sharin. Ugokeba kaze, tomareba sora. Yariutsu neiro ga kōjō ni michiru! Hado Sixty Three- Raikoho!" she half shouted, half chanted.

Rangik-san bolted, but Hitsugaya-kun stood his ground. The yellow energy flooded around him, Momo and his office in a tremendous wave before exploding. Their eyes met, and gazes locked in the seconds before the flash of the energy became blinding.

Momo felt him grab her and fling her out of the window before the worst of the heat engulfed them. She landed hard on her right shoulder, and rolled, coming to her feet, "Toshiro- you bastard!" she shrieked back at the now burning building, blinking hard to refocus her eyes after the bright flash.

It was only when she got no response and she realised that she couldn't feel his reiatsu at all that she got very worried.

"Hitsugaya-kun? HITSUGAYA-KUN!" she called…

And he didn't answer her, she still couldn't sense him, and nothing in the building moved. The lightning ignited flames were dying down, leaving a charred ruin, and nothing else.

Momo jumped into the building at once, and found no reassuring white speck, everything was black. The smoke was everywhere, it stung her eyes and itched her throat, she coughed several times.

She was suddenly grabbed from behind and dragged out, she turned angrily on her saviour to find a completely charcoal covered Shiro-chan.

"Hitsugaya-kun?" he looked completely weird with black hair and skin, only his green eyes were their usual colour.

"Baka, what were you thinking? - smoke inhalation can kill," he scolded her, coughing quite badly himself.

Any temptation she'd had to laugh at him looking like this was replaced by irritation. Somehow, it felt like they were back where they'd been before she'd gotten mad with him. He had apparently completely forgotten that she had just tried to kill him.

"Why did you save me? Why do you do anything for me? You aren't in love with me," she said, sounding sadder than she intended, "You never try to hold me, or kiss me, or show me anything except friendship. You talk with me, but it's never about us, it's always about me and you're always coddling me. Why is it like this? I thought at New Year's… when we- when you, I thought you really cared, but now, lately… I don't know, and I'm just so tired of it all," she said, beginning to cry.

Just when he thought that he couldn't feel any worse; he hit rock bottom.

It was of course at this point that the Soutaicho and every other taicho and fukutaicho, as well as several other Shinigami, found them.

"Hitsugaya?" gasped Kyoraku and Ukitate in one breath.

"Well, I did try to warn you," Matsumoto said cheerily.

He couldn't see himself, but he was fairly sure that he was covered in soot- Hinamori and Matsumoto were quite blackened- and they'd missed the explosion.

"What exactly happened?" Yamamoto-soutaicho demanded.

"There was an explosion," Toshiro answered dryly.

"Oh, and here I thought you had made a bad hair dying job," Kurosaki said smugly.

There were quite a lot of smirks at that comment- clearly he was right about being covered in soot. He shot Kurosaki a **_figuratively_** dirty look.

"Why was there an explosion?" Yamamoto-soutaicho asked, although he didn't sound like he actually wanted to know the answer.

"Hinamori was trying to teach Matsumoto kido- they forgot that the best place for such activities is outside. Matsumoto escaped, I threw Hinamori out and got caught in the blast," Toshiro answered- the best lies were mixes of truths and lies. This one would get them into the least trouble.

"And why was Hinamori-fukutaicho trying to teach Matsumoto-fukutaicho the sixty third hado?" asked Yamamoto-soutaicho.

"Matsumoto boasted to Abarai that she could master it in one try," Abarai was the only member of the fukutaicho and taicho not present and he was a boastful baka- it was safe to blame him.

"And all the members of the tenth division fled because?" the Soutaicho's voice was becoming dryer with each word.

"Hisagi and Kira panicked everyone when Matsumoto asked Hinamori to teach her- apparently they had good foresight," Hitsugaya certainly managed to sound convincing.

Yamamoto wasn't a fool, but it was easier to accept the story rather than find the truth. He really didn't want to know how or why this had happened.

"I don't care how long this takes, but the tenth division will clean this up- with the assistance of the third, ninth and fifth divisions, since they were also involved in this," he said in a firm no-nonsense voice.

Eight voices, fukutaicho and taicho of the four named divisions, said "hai," in quick response to his orders.

He left, taking the majority of the taicho and fukutaicho with him, although several members chose to stay. Kuchiki Byakuya made sure that neither he nor his imoto were one of those, since Kurosaki Ichigo was staying.

"Hinamori-kun, I still can't believe that you attacked Hitsugaya-taicho," Kira sounded rather anxious. This was in distinct contrast to most others who, like Matsumoto, showed far too much curiosity about the situation between him and Hinamori.

Toshiro could see that she didn't know what to say, actually neither did he. There was only one possible action he could take at this point.

"Sorry, but we'll talk about that later," he said shortly grabbing Hinamori's shoulder and disappearing with her, via shunpo. She let out a startled gasp but submitted to getting dragged along by him- wanting to escape all that attention as much as he did.

He dragged her to a rooftop, several miles away from the tenth division.

"I won't do it again- interfere like that, if that's what you want. I know what I'm like, but I only wanted to help, I didn't mean to… I'm sorry," he said.

Momo took in a deep breath and paused, feeling guilty. She had just blown up part of the tenth division and attacked him, and she wasn't entirely sure that being annoyed with him and his actions towards her- none of which had been intended to be hurtful, was justification enough. In fact, she suspected it wasn't anywhere close.

"No, I'm the one who is sorry. You were right, I- I let you do these things and then I accuse you of running my life. I'm just feeling so lost at the moment, mostly because of you and the way I feel about you, it makes you a very easy target..." she said, looking away from him. It hurt to be so close and know that in truth, she was very far away from him.

She was in his arms suddenly. He held her tightly, one hand in the mess of her hair, the other on her back, her head buried in the crook of his neck. His voice was low, almost a growl of anger, but still gentle.

"Baka- don't even think about saying that I don't care for you, or I don't love you. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, but... I... you know I'm still a gaki, I don't know how to act or what to do, and I always seem to do the wrong things around you, no matter how hard I try," his voice broke off.

"If you're a gaki, then I'm one too," she whispered, her hand clenching onto his robes.

"Hinamori, be serious... you're older than me, and you know what I'm like, I try to be an adult, but... in the end, there are some things I can't change. I don't know if I'm the right person for you, I'm not perfect, and I can't seem to act like anything other than what I am, a grumpy gaki," he sounded so ashamed.

"What about me? I'm a complete klutz, with no curves or figure to speak of, I'm the same height as you, but your stronger and more powerful, and... you don't think I'm concerned about being the 'older woman'?" she asked, incredulous.

"What- do you think I'll leave you when you start developing wrinkles in a thousand years time?" his voice had a lighter, teasing note in it, but there was a more serious question underneath it.

_'Don't you have faith in me? Do you really think I am so shallow?'_

"Well at least you won't ever have to worry about your hair showing your age," she added, avoiding the issue, it was something she would leave until later.

He laughed at that, allowing her to change the subject, "you know bed-wetter, perhaps in some ways, you were right. I was so concerned about saying the right things to you, that I forgot to **_talk_** to you,"

She looked at him, "and I was so paranoid about what you were saying, that I forgot with you- it's not the words that are important... it's the _**meaning**_ behind them, and the gestures you make,"

"So, we've both been a little silly?" he asked shyly, releasing her from the tight grip, so that she could move up and look him in the eyes.

"I think, I've been more irrational and silly than you," she felt so stupid, but oddly better. Blowing up his office had helped her get rid of some steam, and talking so openly with him now, was actually very calming. She covered one of his hands with her own, he opened his hand, and they meshed, entwining fingers.

"That's okay- it's that time of the month," he said calmly, without so much as a smirk.

Momo went dark red, "Hitsugaya-kun," she protested, embarrassed beyond belief at him being aware of her 'cycle'.

"I haven't been spying on you or anything," he said, a little red faced himself, "I've just been noticing that at certain times of the month you get angrier and more emotional than at others," he explained.

"Really?" she asked, not sounding convinced.

"Yes, I'm not some sick hentai who'd write down your cycle in my organiser thank you," he said, sounding completely disgusted.

She laughed at that, and found that she couldn't stop laughing. For some reason he joined in, until they lay back against the rooftop gasping for air. His head leant against hers, they were still holding hands, but with no other contact, they lay just like that.

"Hinamori?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, not feeling any real urge to speak in words.

"Spend the week with me," he said, completely serious.

Hinamori's mouth went completely dry and the companionable air between them evaporated.

Apparently Hitsugaya-kun had decided to change tactics...

* * *

**I hope that you really enjoyed this chapter- I did. By the way the 'cycle in organiser' comment owes a little inspiration to Coupling- a great BBC comedy show, the first episode.**

**I know I was a little light on Ichigo & Rukia, but it'll pick up. P.S. I hoped people like the Byakuya and Renji teasing- No One Should Ever Get in the Way of Ichigo and Rukia- Or Momo and Toshiro!!**

**Please R & R!!**

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Translation of Japanese Words:

_Arigato_- Thank you

_Ba_- Grandma/Old woman

_Baka_- Idiot- quite insulting word.

_Bakudo_- Binding Kido

_Chan_- a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Fukutaicho_- Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Gaki_- Brat/Kid

_Hai_- Yes/Correct

_Hado_- Destructive Kido

_Haori_- Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Hentai_- Pervert

_Imoto_- little sister

_Kido_- Ghost Magic

_Kun_- a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou_ _Hidoi_- That's mean/rude

_Raikoho_- Thunder Roar Cannon

_Reiatsu_- Soul Power

_Rukongai_- This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama_- honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San_- a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people whom you don't know well.

_Seireitei_- The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shimatta_- Damn/Shit- mild swear word compared to _Baka_ more like an expletive.

_Shinigami_- Death God

_Shunpo_- Flash Steps

_Soutaicho_- Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho_- Captain/Unit Commander

_Tensei_- Genius

_Zanpakto_- Soul Slayer

* * *

**Translation of the Kido Incantation (thanks to Wikipedia):**

_Sanzai suru, kemono no kotsu! _Sprinkled on the bones of the beast!

_Sentō, kōshō, kōtetsu no sharin. _Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring.

_Ugokeba kaze, tomareba sora. _Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm.

_Yariutsu neiro ga kōjō ni michiru! _The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!


	3. Chapter 3: Confronting the Burried Truth

**Hi everyone- thanks to reviewers for their responses, because without it, as busy as I've been with work, I can honestly say that I wouldn't have bothered continuing to write this. I'm dedicating this chapter to you guys!! ****So please keep the feedback coming, because I need it to improve and write something that people actually want to read.**

**Brownie points go to _Coffee Papers_ for correcting my Japanese spelling- Zanpakto is correct, I was spelling it Zunpukto. Also Brownie points go to _Lychee Green Tea_ for correcting me on the destructive kido being called Hado, not Hakudo- I got mixed up with Bakudo- which is correct for binding kido.**

**A Golden Star also goes to _Lychee Green Tea_ for being the only reviewer to inform me that chapter two's layout worked- no one mentioned it, so I didn't know if it was a good or bad format. Also for writing one of the longest reviews I've ever had, it was lovely, so, thanks!!**

**A Golden Star also goes to _Coffee Papers_ for getting me to realise that I was being riddiculous over the whole 'ku' thing. Short story; because of the way 'ku' is pronounced when added to a suffix (such as chan or san) I thought that there was some weird mutation going on and that the u was actually dropped from the spelling. This would mean that Rangiku-san, would be Rangik-san. I now realise I was over thinking the whole thing (too many different language studies get you seeing u-mutations and other things everywhere) and that such a theory is riddiculous, the pronounciation is simply Japanese (which I have not studdied) and not what I am used to. So appologies for confusing people, but I was confused too!**

**Well, I have re-edited and corrected as many of the above mistakes as I found in the previous chapters and this one, so I hope it's all correct now, and if I missed any, please let me know.**

**Anyway I hope you enjoy the third instalment- please note that originally I planned this to be the last chapter, but I was having so much fun and my ideas got warped, and then I needed to edit everything and so… I'm not exactly sure how many chapters I'll write now.**

**Anyway, enough blabbering on, here's Chapter Three!!**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Confronting the Burried Truth**

Hinamori Momo was not sure exactly what she had expected when she'd agreed to spend the week with Hitsugaya-kun. She was fairly sure that she hadn't expected this, it was only day one and she was already regretting it.

If he'd wanted her to fix the damage she'd made, he could have just said it outright. He didn't have to trick her into spending time with him so she would do it.

They were currently working on replacing all the paperwork that her explosion had obliterated. It was the furtherest thing from fun imaginable, and definitely not her favourite means of getting closer to him. Actually, in terms of getting closer to him, there was no method or chance at all with paperwork, and she could only just see him over the huge stacks between them.

They were silently writing, sitting at opposite ends of the same desk, and he barely looked up, except when he was placing a page on a stack. It was dead quiet, except for the swish of ink brushes on paper.

Rangiku-san had been the smart one and had used the excuse of needing to supervise the repairs of the ruined division, to get out of paperwork. Hitsugaya-kun hadn't fought to keep her because Momo had stupidly volunteered to help him with his paperwork. She'd thought that one small stack would get done very quickly between them, and then they would be able to spend the rest of the day together, on a date.

He could have at least warned her that he was going to try to replace all the ruined paperwork in one sitting. She sighed, very loudly and over-dramatically, hoping that it might move him to think that this punishment was too severe as penance for her crimes.

No such luck- Hitsugaya-kun didn't even pause; he simply continued doing his paperwork without even blinking.

That finally irritated her, and she threw her ink brush down on the desk- refusing to do any more paperwork.

"Are you alright Hinamori?" he asked, still not looking up.

She was aware of a ticking vein in her forehead- he always knew just what to do and say to irritate her most, even when he wasn't trying.

"I am not going to do any more paperwork," she snapped definitely- daring him to argue with her.

"Alright," he agreed completely complacently, and not really sounding interested.

That just made Momo more irritated, and the vein in her forehead began to throb, until…

"I was thinking that it would be nice to take a break- just let me finish this page and we'll go out," he said, his eyes going to meet hers with a faint smile.

The smile just seemed to make everything worthwhile, and any anger simply melted away. She settled back in her chair feeling a faint smile twitch on her own lips, she closed her eyes for a minute, feeling completely relaxed again.

'_Hitsugaya-kun, I hope I can see you smile again and again- that's when I'm happiest,'_

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia wanted to know why Momo-chan had blown up Hitsugaya-taicho's office- she'd already asked Rangiku-san, and the older woman was not entirely sure. So that left only one possibility.

There was no way she could approach Hitsugaya-taicho about the incident, and since he and Momo-chan were working together, she couldn't ask Momo-chan either. That left Ichigo as her only source of information.

She walked on eagerly, her curiosity was sometimes far too strong for her own good. The only problem remaining (after she finally found Ichigo) was getting him to talk. He'd barely ever taken the time to answer her questions in the ningen world- he'd only talked if it was more dangerous to leave her ignorant.

She contemplated simply pounding him into the ground until he talked...

It was tempting to do that simply when she saw him- most of the time the look on his face irritated her enough to beat him up without a good reason. Not answering a question was not perhaps the best reason to do this, but it was at least reasonable… in the eleventh division.

She thought about her problem some more… she needed to be clever about this. The only way to get Ichigo to talk freely, was if he wasn't thinking, when he was caught up in paperwork and absentminded would be best.

She unfortunately walked in on him and Renji in another of their minor tussles.

"What's this I hear about you and Rukia last night?" Renji accused, making it sound much more sordid than it should have. The fact that a footprint was burned onto his face probably did not help the situation; he looked even more ludicrous than usual. Rukia decided not to ask about the footprint- with Renji it was simply better not to know.

"She was tired and fell asleep in my office!" Ichigo protested

"And why exactly was she there for **five** **hours** anyway? What were you **doing** to her in there that tired her out?!" Ranji accused.

Ichigo flushed pink to his hairline, and Rukia, overhearing the conversation felt a hot-pink blush stain her own cheeks.

"RENJI- YOU BAKA!" Rukia shouted, marching into the fight, before Ichigo could make a reply- he seemed too shocked to attempt it.

Renji froze, "Rukia," he mumbled with dread, not daring to turn around and make this nightmare a reality.

She came up from behind and slapped him hard on the head, sending him sprawling onto the ground.

"Ichigo," she said, completely ignoring Renji, "we need to talk," she said, continuing to walk forwards and she dragged him off by his right ear.

She then shoved him into a nearby broom closet and jumped in after him, closing the door. Privacy when discussing a friend's affairs was necessary, and essential when that discussion involved Hitsugaya-taicho.

"Rukia," Ichigo mumbled awkwardly, his mind having lots of problems with being in a very small closet with her.

This was perfect timing, he'd just told Renji that there was nothing going on between them, and now… this looked so dodgy.

He would have jumped out of the closet, except that she was in the way, and it was a very small closet. Ordinarily he wouldn't have had a problem with shoving her out of his way, but lately… he'd suddenly become a pervert.

Well, perhaps not so suddenly, the potential had been present all along, and he had always been interested in her. Lately though, he'd been having 'dreams'… really compelling, perverted dreams- and she'd been the female lead.

Actually, several of them had started out with her pulling him into a closet…

He knew his face resembled a tomato now, and he tried frantically to think of something else...

_'Yamamoto-soutaicho in a thong…'_

_'Omeyda in nothing at all…'_

He gagged, that last one had been such a bad idea- now he felt completely sick to his stomach, so he mentally obliterated the image.

"Ichigo- are you alright? You were red and now you're green!" Rukia exclaimed.

"Fine, I just don't think that closet's agree with me," he said stupidly.

"Oh," Rukia said and paused briefly. "Well then, we'll make this quick," she continued, lifting her face to look him directly in the eyes, with her own deep violet eyes.

This was torture, pure and simple… Ichigo ached to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her slightly pouting mouth.

"Ichigo?" her voice broke the reverie he'd place himself in.

"Hai," he said, sounding as stupid and dazed as he felt, and not at all intelligent.

"I asked you a question," she said, moving just a little closer, and now he could smell her perfume-

"Oh, what was it?" he asked, trying not to sound nervous.

There were only so many questions that called for two people to be in a closet, and he wondered which one she wanted to ask. His perverted mind had definitely found several good possibilities, and it had even worked out the quickest route to his bedroom from the closet- just in case.

"Why did Momo-chan destroy Hitsugaya-taicho's office?" Rukia asked.

Something shattered- several illusions, and suddenly he was in a foul temper.

"You dragged me into this closet to ask me why my fukutaicho destroyed Toshiro's office?" he asked, drawing out the syllables to emphasise his obvious irritation with the events. There was a vein ticking in his head, threatening to explode.

"Hai," Rukia either didn't realise or was completely ignoring his obvious bad mood.

His reply was cut off by the loud cry of Renji's voice from outside the closet, "Kuchiki-taicho I saw her drag him into this closet," Renji's wasn't the only reiatsu he could sense either.

"Kurosaki is in here? With Rukia?" Byakuya managed to sound both disgusted and disbelieving at the same time. Byakuya's reiatsu was clearly the strongest outside, but there were some others, which took him longer to identify.

"I never found closets very comfortable for love affairs," commented a new voice- Rangiku-san, idly.

He was still lousy at most forms of reiatsu manipulation and sensing, but he finally recognised the reiatsu patterns, and realised that the SWA (Shinigami Women's Association) were all waiting outside, along with Hisagi Shuhei- editor of the Shinigami newspaper.

It was apparent that Rukia had known that they were all there from the minute Renji spoke or before, since her face hadn't gotten any paler.

Ichigo wanted the ground to swallow him whole right at that moment. He wasn't granted such mercy though, at least Rukia seemed to realise that there was something wrong with the situation at last though.

"Look, I'll explain this all to nii-sama," she whispered, leaning back against him to make sure that her words reached his ears alone.

He was about to make a sarcastic comment, even though he was secretly grateful. Byakuya was scary enough when he wasn't angry.

Unfortunately her foot slid, and he missed when he grabbed for her arm to steady her- so instead he ended up with a handful of breast. They stayed still in utter shock for a brief second, and it took him all that time to realise that he was in fact groping her.

Rukia recovered faster and had better aim than he did; she smacked him right through the wall into the next room and emerged from the closet before Byakuya opened it. With her Kuchiki dignity still intact, she walked off without explaining a thing.

Ichigo woke up an hour later in the fourth division to find Byakuya (minus his taicho's haori), Renji and Rangiku-san waiting for him to explain what had happened. He was just grateful that the other SWA members and Hisagi weren't present.

He gave them a very edited version of the story- making it clear that Rukia had only been interested in Hinamori blowing up Toshiro's office. He also blatantly lied about why she'd smacked him through the wall- he said it was because he refused to talk. He never mentioned any possibility of groping her to Byakuya- he wasn't that foolhardy, even Renji wasn't that stupid.

He then made the mistake of asking why Renji had a footprint on his face and why Byakuya was missing his haori. It was the laughing Rangiku-san who filled him in as both the sixth division's taicho and fukutaicho gave him a sour look and immediately left.

When he was discharged from the fourth division an hour later his head was not full of thoughts of Byakuya **squealing** because he drenched himself in hot tea at the sight of Renji. Nor was it full of Renji waking up after a night of drinking with a **footprint** burned onto his face. It was full of Rukia and how he would apologise for this one- he'd never groped her before.

He didn't know how to apologise for this one.

* * *

Hinamori Momo was feeling rather nervous and she protecting herself in the only way she could. She was being silent. Hitsugaya-kun had slipped into the silence as well, and it was an uncomfortable, tense silence between them.

They were sitting on the roof of the fifth division, hidden from prying eyes mostly. For some reason Kurosaki-taicho was in an extremely bad mood, so he'd put the entire squad onto rebuilding the tenth division.

He'd come back from fourth with a nasty bruise on his face- it had to be Rukia-san, but he refused to talk and had immediately needed to vent some sort of emotional outburst. It was just bad luck that the squad had finished their morning drills in time to be taken along to suffer with him.

However, this meant that there were very few people about to spy on Momo or Hitsugaya-kun, and she was grateful for that. It was awkward enough between them without needing to worry about spies and gossip. It was actually worse than sitting next to a complete stranger without a word to say- this was her best friend, and they didn't have a single word to say.

She tried to calm herself and felt her heart rate slow and her breathing as well, the world around her seemed to stop, time itself ceased.

She recognised the feelings of Tobiume reaching for her, and she didn't fight it. Tobiume hadn't summoned her for a long time, and part of her was curious, while another part was relieved. Tobiume was easier to talk to than Hitsugaya-kun; anyone was easier at this point.

Her only thoughts before descending and surrendering to oblivion of the world around her were the same ones which often plagued her now.

'_What is wrong with me?'_

* * *

When Momo awoke, it was Tobiume's world of blossoming plum trees around her, and the spirit herself was floating beside her.

"Why am I here?" Momo asked half-dreamily.

"_**You are not acting as yourself Momo, something is wrong, and it has been wrong for a while. It is time we talked, there are things that need to be said," **_said the spirit seriously.

"What needs to be said?" Momo asked, her Zanpakto was rarely this serious, like Momo herself.

"_**Momo, you have to lose to the anger you still bear, and lose this lack of trust that your holding in your kokoro,"**_ Tobiume said softly.

"The lack of trust… in Toshiro? …. and in my friends?" she asked, trying to understood why she was here and what Tobiume wanted to say.

"_**Not just in them, but mostly in yourself,"**_ the gentle voice contradicted.

"Myself?" Momo questioned, confused.

'_I trust myself… don't I?'_

"_**Betrayal is something that takes the kokoro time to recover from," **_the spirit lectured.

_**"It takes time for us to learn to trust our own judgement again, for us to learn to trust in our own abilities again. If we don't trust ourselves though, we cannot trust others fully- and in our deepest hearts we can never trust them to love us or want to be with us without an ulterior motive. That is why you must learn to trust yourself again, for their sake and even more so, for your's," **_the spirit explained, still in that soft voice, with a hint of desperation.

It penetrated, ringing in Momo's head, despite the soft tones. It was impossible to believe that the spirit said anything but the complete truth, and that scared her.

"I trust Toshiro," Momo said defiantly, protecting herself from Tobiume's 'truth' being real.

"_**Then why didn't you tell him? Why don't you show it," **_Tobiume almost scolded her.

Momo would have argued back that she did, except that she was reminded of the questions he hadn't asked. The ones which had hung in the air yesterday. The ones she'd ignored because… they'd made her uncomfortable_._

_'Don't you have faith in me? Do you really think I am so shallow?_'

They still hung on the air, and the guilt she felt… it was enough to devour her.

"I don't know any more," she wailed, suddenly tired.

"_**Grief- even grief for the self, will take time to recover from. It is natural to be tired, to be angry and to never want to trust another again, even if we should claim and try to believe that we do," **_Tobiume told her, speaking kindly again.

"Will it ever get any easier?- It's already been three years since he stabbed me- Why can't I move on? Why does it still hurt?" she asked, frantic.

"_**You ask these things as if the heart and mind were rational machines. As if they could be told what to feel, how to feel, and for how long,"**_Tobiume sounded strangely amused, but mostly sad, almost pitying.

"I really am behaving badly," Momo said, pushing back tears.

"_**You and I, we are fire- hot and impatient; warm and gentle with our allies, scorching and ferocious against our enemy. We're quick to anger, quick to judge, quick to like and help, slow to heal when the surroundings are damp- but we will never burn out. Even if we only remain as embers, we can roar back into life," **_the spirit declared, her voice becoming, louder- ringing tones, _**"but you need to want to return- badly,"**_

There was an inherent pride in Tobiume, just as there was in Momo, but like most things now, she still needed to rediscover it and herself.

"_**Hitsugaya-kun prevented you from burning out, but it is only you who can bring yourself back to life,"**_ Tobiume said, half sadly, but at the same time, there was a fierce determination and a longing.

Momo knew that Tobiume was right, she did need to bring herself back to life. She'd thrown herself back into her life, jumped into the all of her friendships and tried her hardest to live. But she hadn't put any of her kokoro into this life, it was a life without substance or will; it was an empty shell of a life. She hadn't really tried to trust any of her friends as she had once done- she'd been too afraid.

She'd been killing her kokoro, much like before Hitsugaya-kun had intervened over a year ago, this method had been slower, but it would have had the same result.

"Gomen Tobiume," the spirit, her other half, suffered as much as she did, and she'd ignored so much. She was surprised that Tobiume hadn't burnt her to try and get through to her.

"_**We are not naturally patient, but this process of repair and healing requires patience. There are many things to learn, we will always learn throughout our lives- it is how we grow and change," **_the voice of her Zanpakto whispered gently.

Momo saw a tiny flower descend from the blossoming tree beside her. She held out a hand and caught the delicate blossom as it fell past her. It weighed nothing, and part of her almost doubted that she had caught it.

"_**What you must learn now is how to forgive yourself for what you believe you have been so mistaken in, that is the only way to move on"**_ Tobiume's voice drifted, like the wind, echoing faintly.

She opened her hand; the flower was resting on her palm. It was perfect; each small petal was an unblemished pink oval, no insect bites or crinkles. Her hand had not even crushed it.

"_**You cannot keep punishing yourself, and blaming yourself for the past, or for the hold that past has on you,"**_ the spirit's voice was sad, but still scolding.

She continued looking at the flower, like the trees around her it was completely normal looking. Her inner world had changed, it was less fiery, the sky was pale blue and she half expected to find birds or animals here. It was just so normal, except for the absurd perfection in the flowers.

"_**It is not easy, but be patient and learn who you are again. Just as you did when you first began to master your reiatsu and summon me,"**_ here she couldn't identify the emotion Tobiume felt.

Momo then wondered how she felt. She'd been so concerned with Tobiume's emotions, that she'd forgotten her own...

Perhaps she felt apprehensive, and perhaps… a very small part of her was, looking forward to the challenge. The blossom in her hand began to glow and then, suddenly the flower and the trees were engulfed in rosy flames.

The flames didn't consume anything, but they gave off heat, and they ignited something inside her which had been dark and cold for far too long. The sky glowed with the same pink fire.

"**_Now you see how it needs to be done Momo,"_** and this time Momo didn't need a guess to understand Tobiume's feelings.

* * *

Momo ascended from her flaming inner world, returning to her body, at Hitsugaya-kun's side. For the first time in many months, she felt warm and she felt safe.

Hitsugaya-kun was still lying beside her; he'd left her to her own mental reflections. He'd always had more faith in her strength than anyone else, everyone else treated her like a weak child. They only saw the Momo they wanted to see- sweet and kind, but, that was a small part of her; there were other parts, not so nice, that hid beneath the surface.

Hitsugaya-kun had never seen her as anything that she wasn't. He'd seen it all, her ugliest sides and her most beautiful, and had accepted it all, because he was no less flawed than she was.

She flung herself at him, "Oh Hitsugaya-kun, gomen, gomen, gomen," she cried, holding onto him and crying like she never had before. The oddest thing was, she didn't really know why the tears wouldn't stop- she didn't know if it was grief, fear, confusion or… relief.

"Hinamori?" he sounded confused and had a right to a full explanation, but between her tears, she couldn't manage to convey anything.

He simply held her in silence, stroking her back, his robes were soft against her cheek, and he was surprisingly comfortable to lie one like this. She knew he wasn't much more than skin, bones and a few muscles- but some how she had found none of those sharp edges.

His fingers were threading through her hair, pulling it loose off the ribbon and cloth. He'd always liked her hair loose, even as a child. The first time she'd pulled it back he'd told her it looked stupid, as children, 'baka' had been his favourite description of her. At the moment, it still didn't feel like she'd come very far from where she'd started at all.

She was surprised when he spoke finally, "Hinamori, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me anything- and we can stay here as long as you need. So don't worry," he said softly.

She relaxed deep into him and she found that her tears were slowly drying up, she even found a smile growing on her face. He really did always know what to say- not only to anger her, but to help her... sometimes.

'_I'm not alone… even if I only take it one step at a time… even if I don't move quickly… it'll be okay, and I'll always have you and Tobiume. Arigato Hitsugaya-kun, I'll never be able to say 'Arigato' or 'Gomen' often enough,'_

Toshiro didn't particularly mind holding a crying Hinamori. He wasn't thrilled that she was crying, but he would never see the opportunity to hold her as bad in any way. His legs fell asleep and his back ached from sitting without moving for so long, but he ignored it.

She was still now, not sobbing, and the tears seemed to have stopped- although it was hard to tell since her face was buried in his robes. He didn't seem to be getting damper though, so he suspected that they'd stopped too.

"Hinamori?" he questioned, wondering if she was awake. She was lying still- and that wasn't natural for her, she was a fidgety person by nature, she always had been one and that was one thing that had never changed.

"Hitsugaya-kun," she responded lazily.

He didn't need to say or ask anything else; instead he resumed running his fingers through her hair. She sighed in utter contentment, and he felt a small smile grow on his face.

'_Just being with you, like this… it's all I need to be happy,'_

Neither of them noticed the sun slowly setting, and neither of them particularly cared. They didn't even care when the sunlight gave way to the night sky, with no moon, only a faint trickle of starlight.

It was on the stroke of midnight, when Kurosaki Ichigo finally brought back his exhausted division that the couple finally parted. They stood and he passed her the ribbon and cloth he'd stolen from her hair, before either of them dared to speak and shatter this comfortable silence.

"Oyasumi Hinamori," he said, kissing her forehead gently.

"Oyasumi Hitsugaya-kun," she whispered, and then she slowly and timidly she leant forward and kissed him on the mouth.

As kisses went, it was short and restrained, but it was one of the few times Hinamori had ever kissed him, he was usually the one to kiss her. So it took a lot of self-control to leave it as a short one. But he controlled himself and helped her down from the roof, like a gentleman (-it was probably one of the few times he'd ever acted like that around her. She seemed to appreciate it, so it was worth it) and held her hand as he walked her to her room.

"Arigato for helping me today," he whispered.

She smiled and his stomach twisted, "I should be saying that, and tomorrow- I decide what to do," she said boldly, with a gentle smirk.

"That's fair," he agreed, heartened by her attempt at taking charge. Even so the more cautious side- the one which had survived a childhood with her wondered.

'_What has she got planned?'_

**

* * *

**

Please R & R!!

Tell me what you thought of the chapter- any suggestions for improvements are always welcome.

I wanted this chapter to be about Momo finally understanding herself and the changes she needs to accept to finally move on from Aizen. I'm sure some people think that I've wasted a lot of time on that, but a betrayal spanning about 50 years would leave a lot of scars- and if you understand the chapter properly (or if I wrote it properly) I think you'll see that it is about Momo not Aizen necessarily.

I promise that there will be more Ichigo & Rukia, more Momo & Toshiro and there will also be a Rangiku pairing begining in the next chapter.

**I promise to upload the next one sooner than I updated this one, the corrections on previous chapters took time, and I also took the opportunity to rephrase several things that I thought needed changing.**

* * *

**Translation of Japanese Words:**

_Arigato-_ Thank you

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_ Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart/Soul, it is a Japanese concept of a what Westerners would refer to as a 'heart' or a 'soul' depending on the context.

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_ This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_ The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	4. Chapter 4: Part One

**Hi people- I'm back!!**

**Anyhow- this chapter will bring in some romance for all the characters, but should still make you giggle!!**

**Actually, to be honest, this is only the first part of chapter four- you see I started writing, and I liked it all, so I ended up writing too much, and now you have the first half of chapter four. I'll post the second half in a few days- promise.**

**Thanks again to all my reviewers- I hope you like it.**

**

* * *

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Chapter Four: The Right Approach (Part One)

Kurosaki Ichigo had never had a more challenging mission.

He had absolutely no idea how to apologise, and no plans for how he could begin apologise to Rukia. It might have been because he had never groped a girl before, and thus never needed to apologise for it. It could also have been because it **was **Rukia; he never had as many problems with any other girl.

Everything he said or did was wrong; everything she said or did was wrong- they couldn't ever manage to communicate or spend time together like normal people. Every conversation ended in argument and most likely painful blows to the head or stomach. Neither of them wanted it to be like that- he never actively sort such a… strangely explosive relationship, it just happened to be that way.

He'd never admit that he was jealous of every other man she had some sort of bond with, even Renji. The way those two interacted was a milder form of the relationship she had with Ichigo, but they could also be gentle and sweet with each other. Ichigo always seemed to miss that side of Rukia, and he would give almost anything for her to act like that with him, he craved it more than anything... except the complete annhilation of Chappy from all existence.

Why was she always so gentle with Byakuya? She was also obedient with Byakuya, even respectful and loving- she didn't argue back, or make smart and irritating remarks. She respected Ukitate-san, and adored him as all the thirteeenth division's officers adored the good-natured, polite taicho. Even Sentaro- that weird third seat, had her respect and affection- she never smashed him into the ground. She certainly didn't smack Ishida or Chado on the head either, or argue with them, she even went easy on the perverted Urahara-san and his baka Oyaji.

It was Ichigo she was hardest on, Ichigo she admired least, and Ichigo who she argued with most.

The person she obviously hated the most, had insulted her honour as an unmarried woman.

How could he get her to accept an apology? Buying presents could be construed as bribery- perhaps it could even be taken as him saying that he could buy her… and it could be a bigger insult… A formal apology with a lot of grovelling could be embarrassing, but, if he was obviously sincere, perhaps…

"Taicho?" Hinamori asked, sounding quite surprised, "have you been in here all night?"

He blinked, "it's morning?" she had to be lying, he hadn't really been thinking about Rukia that long.

"It's after eight. You're supposed to be supervising the training of the tenth squad under the fifteenth seat- you said he wasn't giving them enough of a workout," she said, sounding politely embarrassed.

Ichigo took several minutes to register that, "I did?"

"Three days ago," Hinamori confirmed, "ano, taicho… perhaps I should supervise for you. I think you should go to bed for a few hours, you look," his polite and sweet fukutaicho searched for the appropriate word, "a little rough," she finished.

In other words; he looked completely haggard and crumpled from staying up all night.

"No, I'll supervise the training. I said I would, but after that I will get some rest- I promise," he said to her worried brown eyes.

"If you don't, I'll put an eighties level bakudo on you," Hinamori mock-threatened- it was an ongoing joke between them.

She often threatened to bind him with kido, since everyone knew that he was worse than Renji at using it. Even so, she kept it as a joke, light and teasing, not serious- she was considerate of other people's feelings, and didn't rub his faults in his face. She reminded him a little of both of his sisters; perhaps that was why they got along so well.

He managed to give her a smile before he walked out to the training grounds to do his duty. He didn't mind teaching others; he actually quite enjoyed it- even if most of them were technically more experienced Shinigami. He'd not even been one for four years- and they'd all been through the six year Academy course at the least.

For some reason- no doubt his exploits during the war against Aizen, he was respected, even idolised by all the junior officers, and some senior officers too. Hinamori had told him not to be embarrassed by it, simply to graciously acknowledge it and then politely ignore it.

He was still working on it, but she often sheltered him from the worst of it. He suspected that she had told the other taicho and fukutaicho, because they all seemed to watch out for him in crowded, uncomfortable situations.

Ukitate-san was probably one of his favourites among the other taicho. Not just because he was Rukia's taicho, but, because Ukitate-san was always helpful and often dropped in, despite his poor health, just for a chat. Unfortunately it also meant putting up with Kyoraku-san a lot more often than he actually wanted to- the hentai reminded him rather uncomfortably of his Oyaji.

Ukitate-san was always a source of good advice and willing to give Ichigo some snacks as well as answer any questions. Actually Ukitate-san was exactly the kind of man Ichigo would have liked for an uncle, he admired the refined man; he was polite, witty and simply a good person. Ichigo always enjoyed Ukitate-san's visits- and it had nothing to do with the fact that Rukia always came with Ukitate-san when he visited, nothing whatsoever.

Well, she used to… she probably wouldn't now, not ever again.

'_Rukia- what can I do?'_

* * *

Matsumoto Rangiku could not believe that her taicho had actually done this. Who exactly did he think he was? He had no right to **exploit** her like this!

"I expect it all to be done by the time I return," Hitsugaya-taicho said coolly, sounding rather smug, "otherwise, you'll be stuck for a very long time," there was a subtle and deliberate emphasis on those last words. He almost purred them, he sounded so satisfied.

"But taicho, this isn't fair!" she protested, trying not to let her chattering teeth ruin what was otherwise a splendid cry for pity.

"So leaving me yesterday with all the paperwork was non-intentional?" he asked, raising an eyebrow mockingly.

"Do you honestly think I would do that to you?" she asked innocently, the shivering ruined the effect she was trying to create.

"Hai," he said shortly, apparently holding a grudge.

"But-" Rangiku began, trying to justify her position and the fact she had left him with the paperwork numerous times.

"Matsumoto, I am being reasonable, all you need to do is finish those two stacks- it is not asking too much. This is as much paperwork as Ise-san completes in four hours, and the ice binding on you will fade once it is complete. All you need to do is a reasonable amount of paperwork for once and then you can leave the office- you can even drink sake," he said in a patient tone she despised.

"Hai taicho," she said, slumping in her seat, resigned to her fate. She was freezing, her uniform could do little against the ice he'd used on her- but she'd always known that someday he would make good on his threat to use his power on her.

He walked out of the room and closed the door. She smirked and leant down, aiming for the bottom right-hand drawer. She tried to pull it open, but it didn't budge, she tugged again, but it still didn't move. Half panicked; she put all of her weight behind it, and succeeded only in wrenching the handle off.

"Oh, before I forget Matsumoto, I took precautions- just in case you wanted to start early. You do your best work when you're not drunk, and I wanted this set of paperwork filled out to perfection," her taicho's voice floated back in through the closed door.

He was far too sneaky, sealing her onto her chair with ice from the waist down. He'd also made the ice seal her chair to the floor, right in front of the desk. Now it seemed that he'd also sealed her sake drawer shut, and she recognised the bakudo he'd used- 'mirror wall'. There was no way she could blast that open- Hitsugaya-taicho wasn't particularly skilled at kido, but he was better than her. She didn't have access to Haineko either- he'd frozen the Zanpakto over, leaving a mound of ice at the foot of her napping couch. Rangiku didn't have much choice if she wanted to be released.

She sourly grabbed her first sheet of paper and her inkbrush, she was going to make sure that Yamamoto-soutaicho received a complaint about this.

This had to come under one of the articles on abuse of powers and authority over subordinates. She'd have to ask Nanao; the woman had a photographic memory, and would be able to give her the right references for sure.

Rangiku didn't even realise that she had finished her first sheet until her ink brush stopped moving. Sometimes she surprised herself; she had filled it out perfectly while thinking of something entirely different. She moved onto the second, still mad, but gradually as she worked her way through the first pile, she forgot her anger entirely.

* * *

Toshiro was surprised that Hinamori was waiting for him outside her division's office. She had a basket and a rolled up blanket on the ground beside her, she gave him a big smile as he approached.

"I decided that we should picnic," she declared.

He blinked, "picnic?"

"Hai, now let's go," she said walking past him.

"Okay," he was surprised she was being so bossy, he made to follow her.

"A-hem," she coughed, looking back at the basket and the rug and then at him.

"You have got to be kidding," he informed her bluntly. She'd filled the basket and decided on having a picnic- there was no way he was going to carry it. Did she really think he was some sort of pathetic love-struck baka who'd do everything she said?

"Well, then I guess I'll have to ask someone else to give me a hand," she said, walking off smartly.

She meant obviously 'become her slave', and he wasn't going to fall for that- no chance.

She walked off, leaving him staring after her in disbelief. He watched her for three minutes, and it became obvious that she was serious.

'_I really am a pathetic love-struck baka,'_

He grabbed the basket and the rug, almost dropping it in surprise-

'_How much food did she pack?'_

Momo repressed a giggle when she saw him almost drop the basket; she pretended not to notice as he walked up to her with both rug and basket.

"I guess we don't need anyone else to help… unless you can't manage?" she said archly, trying not to giggle.

He shot her a glare and continued walking; reminding her of the time Rangiku-san had suggested he use his power to cool down the tenth division during summer.

She watched him struggle with the basket, and inwardly cursed, she'd had her fun, anymore torture would be malicious.

"Hitsugaya-kun, wait a minute!" she called, rushing over and helping him carry the heavy basket.

"Hinamori, what did you put in here?" he asked.

"Two watermelons, three sets of-" she didn't get to finish, and the basket was almost wrenched out of her hands, as he ran forward and dragged her with him. The basket's weight was apparently not so much of a burden now that he had incentive.

"I haven't had a good watermelon in three months," Hitsugaya-kun called back gleefully.

"Hitsugaya-kun, slow down," she yelled, wondering where they were going.

He stopped abruptly and she crashed into the back of him, almost dropping the basket.

"Hinamori, where were we going?" he suddenly asked.

She blinked and looked around, "ano… I thought we'd go to a park, but… I think that this place is better,"

They had accidentally found a pretty piece of wilderness, there was a river and lots of trees, and best of all- it was completely free of any other people.

"I do too," he said, and then he dropped the basket and splashed her with cold river water in one smooth motion.

His cocky smirk dared her to splash him back.

"Hitsugaya-kun," she said calmly, "this means war!" she yelled, lunging at him.

* * *

It was when Matsumoto Rangiku was three quarters through the pile that Kira Izuru walked in the door, and she suddenly acquired a predatory grin. The kind a lioness acquires right before she pounces on unsuspecting prey.

Kira froze under that grin, apparently sensing the danger (which was completely natural- he'd been around Gin for quite a while before the betrayal) and he was looking very nervous. "Ano Matsumoto-san, I was bringing you some bills that the suppliers needed to have checked by Hitsugaya-taicho," he said, looking like he wanted to run.

"But I thought the fifth division took care of transporting all the raw materials yesterday," Rangiku said innocently, deliberately using her arms to squeeze her breasts together, increasing her already impressive cleavage.

Kira's eyes flicked downwards and then he forced himself to focus on her face. It was kind of adorable, especially because he was sporting a dark red blush on his cheeks.

"Well- they… they only transported the materials- we still have to-uh… pay for them," he said, managing not to stutter too awkwardly, fighting the urge to run.

Rangiku quite deliberately sat back and stretched in one sudden movement that made her breasts almost bounce out of her gi.

Kira's eyes widened, descended and reascended, before he turned a darker red, "so, I'll uh- leave you with these then," he said, inching towards the door.

"Ano, Kira?" she asked.

"Hai?" he stopped inches before the door.

"You need to pass me the bills," Rangiku pointed out.

"Oh, of course," he laughed nervously, and walked quickly over to the desk, dropping the bills onto the corner and then he turned and began making for the exit again.

"Kira," she called, just before he could escape.

"Hai?" he asked, very politely.

"I can't reach them there, could you please move them closer?" she asked, pouting.

Kira turned, backtracked and place the bills in her hand, barely looking her in the eye or anywhere else, before racing to the door.

"Is there something wrong Kira?" she asked, once again seconds before he could escape.

Izuru withdrew his hand from the door, "what do you mean Matsumoto-san?" he asked in his most pleasant and polite voice, trying to hide his inner 'turmoil'.

"I mean- why do you seem so," she paused and added a sensual purr to her next word, "uncomfortable," and looked at him expectantly.

"I am not uncomfortable," Izuru contradicted, "I am in a hurry actually, and I am afraid I don't have time to talk- sorry if I am being rude," he blurted out.

"So you can't stay?" Matsumoto-san pouted, her full lower lip quivering, her crystal blue eyes wide and sparkling.

Izuru did not have the heart to turn her down, "well just for a few minutes," he surrendered. It couldn't hurt…

* * *

"Rukia, is there something I should be aware of?" her nii-sama asked gravely.

She shook her head, a mixture of embarrassment, shame and a hot feeling in her stomach keeping her silent. She'd never be able to tell him that she was avoiding Ichigo and why, she was only half sure of the answer herself.

Rukia went back to reading her book- still on the first page, because none of her thoughts were even trying to read a single word written on the page.

'_Ichigo, you baka- why did that have to happen?'_

* * *

In the middle of a very expensive transaction in Seireitei's Chappy Outlet store, Kurosaki Ichigo sneezed violently.

"The young lady you're buying this for must be thinking of you," the saleswoman said with a cheerful smile.

She had a right to be cheerful- he couldn't believe how much Chappy merchandise cost, he was going back to his division considerably poorer.

'_Of course Rukia's thinking of me- probably thinking the most painful way to kill or mutilate me. Rukia- I hope that we can work this out,'_

He had been convinced by several killer saleswomen that gifts were the answer to forgiveness. He still wasn't sure he was convinced, but buying something had seemed the easiest way to escape; literally.

He could show her the gift- she loved Chappy; and then ransom it for her promise not to kill him.

Or he could just distract her with Chappy merchandise for the rest of his life and run whilst she was busy admiring the rabbit.

He still had no idea why someone who could be so practical, even ruthless, in battle had such a weakness for bunnies. It just didn't equate, and when he complained about it to her, she'd shot back that he was a worse contradiction since he liked Shakespeare's work.

Rukia's remark had set the whole eleventh division to laughing- apparently they thought that Shakespeare was girly. Naturally he'd lost his temper and sent them all to the fourth for emergency care. Needless to say Unohana-taicho was not impressed- and she was probably the biggest contradiction of all. She, the head healer and probably one of the gentlest people in Seireitei, was in fact the most widely feared of everyone.

He still didn't see why everyone thought reading Shakespeare was for sissies- it was a classic work; the writing and imagery were dignified and looked at a large set of issues, which were still relevant today. There were no gaudy coloured mobile phones, strange dialects and/or creepy rabbit smiles- which were **not **in any way kawaii!!

'_Rukia- how can we work this out? We seem to have absolutely nothing in common,'_

* * *

"Rukia, you have been sneezing a lot today," Byakuya was concerned about his imoto.

"Perhaps someone special is thinking of you Kuchiki," Ukitate said cheerfully, with a wink.

Rukia had looked up from her book- she went back to it with a vengeance and a fiery blush. Byakuya didn't care for that at all. Something had been strange all morning, she rarely ever came to borrow books on kido off him- the library had a better selection. Then she had remained, to read the book in his presence- and she had never done that outside of the Kuchiki house.

He didn't care for Ukitate's interference either. If the older man wasn't always constantly putting her and Kurosaki in the same room, he was making sly comments and innuendos about one to the other, regardless of Byakuya's disaproval. Rukia was a Kuchiki, she was not meant for Kurosaki, Ukitate- a member of a noble house, should know better than that. He wasn't the only person determined to see them together, but he was one of the worst, only Kyoraku matched him and Inoue Orihime.

Ever since that quincy had confessed his feelings for the orange haired girl, and they had consequently begun to 'date', she had become obsessed with love and relationships. She was far too obvious in her notions or plans to have any success, but that didn't stop her enthusiastically trying to set up confessions and dates between every single friend she had. She was a nuisance- and he was glad that her attachment to the ningen world and the quincy diluted her influence in Soul Society and on Rukia.

"You know, if you leave your face that way you'll get wrinkles," Ukitate chimed in cheerfully, breaking Byakuya's train of thought.

He shot the older man a glare.

"All children grow up Byakuya, and they make their own decisions," the older man said softly, a gentle smile on his face.

Then he sailed out of the office, leaving a speechless Byakuya staring at the door. Rukia, still staring at the book, but not reading it, didn't even notice the exchange. All of her attention was on the orange haired boy, who was slowly making his way to the sixth division office.

* * *

Izuru was still wondering how exactly he'd been manipulated into this. To be honest, he knew exactly how she'd done it- he just was surprised by the depths of her… character. It wasn't quite right to behave like this, but, if he was honest, no one had ever accused Matsumoto-san of being honest- devious was closer to the bone.

"Kira, hurry up! I don't want to be here too much longer," she complained, rubbing her arms to try and keep warm.

He began writing faster- keeping in mind that he had been there an hour, that he should have left long ago and that for some stupid reason he'd promised to help her. Apparently that meant staying until **all **the paperwork was completed and she was free. He just hoped that his taicho would not be too annoyed with him.

"Matsumoto-san, with all due respect- I cannot stay too much longer," he tried to escape.

"So you won't help me?" she pulled out that insanely sexy, but still pitiful pout.

He melted into resignation, "well, it shouldn't take too much longer," he sighed and went back to writing.

"Arigato Kira," she said, giving him a bright smile and kissing his cheek quickly.

He flushed pale pink and began writing faster, no longer sure if he wanted to leave her or if he wanted to stay.

He didn't notice the speculative look on her face- similar to a woman deciding on her accessories for the day. He couldn't ignore the flippant comment that followed though.

"You know Kira- you're actually pretty kawaii!," she said, sounding serious.

He looked at her in shock, she gave him a wink, and suddenly his face felt like it was burning. He turned as far away from her as he could, praying for this torture to be over soon.

'_There is no way Matsumoto-san could ever be interested in someone like me,'_

* * *

Toshiro was currently the only man in Seireitei apart from Kyoraku Shunsui, who could claim to be completely relaxed. He was currently sitting on a picnic rug with Momo by his side. Their piece of wilderness had remained their's, and it was nice to feel like they were completely alone.

His hand was on top of hers, they'd long since finished the food- and she'd made sure that he got more than his fair share of the watermelon as always.

He didn't really think that this day could get much better; so far absolutely nothing had gone wrong, their conversations had been light and full of laughter. He'd managed to compliment her at all the right times, and best of all he'd felt completely comfortable with her. They'd decided to call the water fight from earlier a draw because they were both cheating outrageously with kido and other tricks.

She looked so pretty; she had her hair down and she was wearing a pale peach kimono patterned with dark red and black butterflies. Her pale skin was glowing, and so was her hair- even though it was still wet. They were both quite damp, but the windy and quite mild day ensured that their clothes were drying quickly.

She looked at him questioningly, "I was admiring the view," he explained, and her cheeks went pink.

"Hitsugaya-kun," she protested.

"You know I don't exaggerate- I never have, not with you even," he said seriously.

"I think you're a little biased," she said lightly..

"I'm allowed to be- besides I thought women were supposed to crave compliments," he said archly.

"Well, I like them," she began with a smile.

"Then don't complain Momo," he said, teasingly.

"So, we're settled?" she asked.

"I'll call you Momo and permit you to call me Toshiro," he said grudgingly, but he smiled to let her know it was alright.

She leant down, lying on her back across the rug, her head resting beside his knee.

"-But if you ever try to call me Shiro-chan," he leant forward and down, over her, "I'd never forgive you," he whispered huskily, kissing her lightly on the mouth.

She licked her lips deliberately, "believe me- I don't see you as that gaki anymore," she said, smirking, and stretching out beneath him.

He scowled at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him, they both burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard that he fell on top of her, they both stopped laughing, and her brown eyes met his green ones.

It was like a spark suddenly jumped between them, their smiles melted, and he couldn't tell if he moved first, or she did. Their mouths met, and his awareness of his surroundings was completely shut down to the feel of her body against his and her lips on his own.

**

* * *

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Anyway, I hope you liked it, and I'll be posting the second half in a few days time. I figured it would be better to post two smaller chapters rather than one large one, so I could give the story the depth and attention it deserved, rather than cut out bits and make it a lesser creation.

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Translation of Japanese Words:

_Arigato-_ Thank you

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_gaki-_ brat/kid

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Hentai- _pervert

_Imoto-_ Younger Sister

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Oyaji-_ Dad/old man (more casual form of saying it)

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	5. Chapter 4: Part Two

**Here it is as promised, the second part of chapter four. Sorry I had to separate the parts, but I don't like making chapters so long generally- it got away from me, and I really couldn't cut too many bits if I wanted to stick to my new plan. The following belonged in chapter four, and I really hope you like this ending to that chapter.**

**I wasn't going to put it up this quickly- I like editing my pieces a little more, but I was so encouraged by the response that I'm posting it now. So I hope you enjoy it, and please point out any mistakes because I don't think two once-overs is enough to catch every error.**

**Anyway- I'll dedicate this once more to all my lovely reviewers- without your encouragement I wouldn't bother, so thanks!!**

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* * *

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Chapter Four: The Right Approach (Part Two)

Kurosaki Ichigo had finally come up with a plan that might work- emphasis on the might. He'd thought long and hard about it and concluded that whatever he said to Rukia was doomed. They always argued, no matter what he said, so he wasn't going to say anything.

He was going to write- she couldn't argue with him that way… although she might bash him on the head after reading his letter. To avoid that he was going to have to be eloquent- but completely clear. He was going to have to have nice handwriting- but it still needed to be legible.

This was not going to be easy- to write an appropriate letter, he was going to have to surpass Shakespeare!

Ichigo grabbed his ink brush and a clean white sheet of paper. He stared at it long and hard, he looked away and stared at it again.

He had absolutely no idea of how to start this letter…

He was doomed, and he was fairly sure that any fortune-teller would say that they saw a cloud of pink Sakura petals in his future. Lethal, sharp, even deadly, pink petals- the kind that would kill him, instantly. If he insulted her in this letter, Rukia was sure to tell Byakuya everything.

With a new determination he began his letter.

_**Dear Rukia,**_

Then he stopped… what could he write next?

'_Damnit Rukia, why does everything have to be so difficult with us?'_

* * *

Izuru was beginning to get desperate, he'd been stuck doing Matsumoto-san's paperwork for two hours, and his release was not insight. Matsumoto-san had stopped doing paperwork an hour ago- now she was humming an annoying song. She was also sucking a lollypop he'd stupidly given her.

-It was insurance against Yachiru, he always carried something sweet to bribe her with in case she attempted to attack him. It didn't matter who was stronger, Yachiru was leathal- the wounded of Eleventh Division were daily proof of this.

Matsumoto-san was sucking the strawberry flavoured sweet very loudly in-between verses. Needless to say he was beginning to get more irritated with each minute. He was trying to help her, and she was slacking off.

What? Did she really think he was such a pushover?

Just because he did exactly what she said… and couldn't really say no to her… he was… okay maybe he was a little bit of a pushover. But she was manipulating him with her sexuality! That was a blatant misuse of her body, it wasn't fair!!

He put down the pen, "Matsumoto-san, I have been here for two hours- and now I am leaving," he said firmly.

"Please stay, just a little longer," she said, her voice sounding close to tears.

"It's not going to work," he said

"I'll take off my gi," she said, stretching again, her breasts bouncing with the movement.

"That won't work either," he lied, and got out of the seat, "good luck with finishing your work Matsumoto-fukutaicho," he said formally, and walked out of the room.

Rangiku stared after him in astonishment… he'd resisted the temptation of her 'valley', but that wasn't- he was a man- he couldn't…

HOW DARE HE?!

"Kira? Kira! KIRA!!" she screeched- she needed him to come back, she had to know if it was true. No man alive could resist her 'valley'!! She would have fallen out of the chair if she hadn't been iced in, and as it was she almost broke her back trying to squirm out of it. He had to come back!

* * *

Toshiro was not entirely comfortable, he didn't mind Momo being on top, but the tree root embedded in his back was another story. They'd rolled off the blanket, which had been very comfortable and tree-root free, but the river bank was most definitely not. There were also rocks and sticks, unfortunately she didn't seem inclined to move, she definitely found him a very comfortable pillow.

He still hadn't decided if it was flattering or not to be considered a good pillow, but since they both liked it, he was determined not to let it bother him. He'd do anything for her.

"Toshiro- my hair is a mess," she complained.

"You've never looked more beautiful," he whispered adoringly.

"You're right, I do love compliments," she said in clear satisfaction.

He kissed her cheek, "I love giving them, because every time you blush,"

"Toshiro- this won't stop after this week, will it?" she suddenly asked, sounding nervous.

"There's no reason it should- and neither of us want it to, right?" he asked her, slightly worried.

She smiled, suddenly relieved, "definitely not," she whispered, settling her head on his chest.

"Momo- can we move back to the blanket? It feels like I've got half the forest underneath me," he complained.

She giggled, "Anything for you," she said with mock-seriousness, kissing him on the nose.

"I should hope so after you knocked me in that river!" he accused, giving her a dirty look.

"I didn't knock you- you slipped!" she protested.

"Over your raised leg," he pointed out.

"It was an accident!" she lied.

"Sure," he said sarcastically.

"And river water naturally jumps out of the bed drenching people?" she asked pointedly.

"Defensive reaction to you tripping me- it was not deliberate!" he defended himself.

"It was revenge and you know it!" she argued back.

They were having so much fun arguing that neither made a mention of moving back to the picnic rug again. It would have meant returning to Seireitei, and that was not something they were quite ready for yet. She settled down beside him on that uncomfortable riverbank, and somehow, it was the most wonderful place to be.

* * *

Byakuya was not impressed, Rukia was still in his office, and now, unfortunately, so was Kurosaki. The boy appeared to be attempting to woo her; he had a large bouquet, a box of chocolates and a brightly wrapped package.

If Byakuya hadn't known better, he would have thought Kurosaki was trying to bribe or placate Rukia- but she would obviously not be hiding in **his** office if that was the case.

"Ichigo?" Rukia questioned, "what is all of this?" she cocked her head to one side.

"It's not bribery," Ichigo spat out immediately, "I just felt like I owed you several gifts because I've been such a jerk,"

Byakuya was almost sure the boy was lying- perhaps the Kuchiki lord's presence was bothering Kurosaki, and limiting what he could say. Byakuya settled smugly down to work, giving the two an occasional glance or glare.

"Arigato," Rukia said shortly and awkwardly.

"So um… here," he piled everything into her arms and fled.

Byakuya gave Kurosaki a zero out of ten for such an unstylish dumping of his presence and exit. He almost didn't notice that Kurosaki had pushed a thick envelope into Rukia's hands along with the presents. She had placed the presents on the floor beside Byakuya's desk and she opened the envelope and began to read the letter inside. It was obviously a long letter, which strangely raised Kurosaki- just a little, in Byakuya's estimation.

He was surprised when Rukia ran out of the room holding the letter to her chest, a single tear running down her face. What had Kurosaki written that had upset her so much? He grabbed his Zanpakto, determined to make the boy pay for upsetting Rukia.

* * *

To say that Rukia had been surprised by Ichigo's letter did not go far enough. She suddenly had a new respect for Shakespeare, and for his impact on Ichigo. No one had ever written her such a letter, and, the tears wouldn't stop welling up in her eyes.

**Dear Rukia,**

Just the strokes of the characters had made the heat rise to her cheeks- it was never a way he'd addressed her before. It had made her feel as if she was… important to him, as if he saw her in a similar manner to the way she saw him.

**I can never say out loud how I feel about you.**

Just the words had made Rukia's stomach twist into knots. She thought that she'd known how he felt about her- he always needed to save her, and who wouldn't be annoyed by such a burden. Then he made her feel sad or stupid by saying something, so she defended herself from the pain of that by making a fool out of him.

**We always argue, we fight and then I can not ever say what I mean to.**

She couldn't have argued with any of those words, she felt exactly the same way, and the same frustration, which usually lingered until their next meeting. They argued and then the same thing happened and so they continued in this endless cycle- she felt trapped by the whole thing, and some part of her resented him for it.

Other parts of her made it plain that she was equally to blame for the situation- and even if she didn't like it, some part of her acknowledged that was true.

**What I mean to say right now is, that I am sorry. **

It was simple, but for some reason, his words had touched her, deeply. It was almost like she was hearing him speak to her words directly from his heart- words that their arguing always cut off before he could say them.

**I was being a baka in the closet, and I truly did not mean to grab you. I was only trying to help, but I misjudged the situation, badly, and now I can only apologise, because there is really nothing else I can say to remedy the situation.**

Rukia was still looking for Ichigo over an hour after she'd run out of her nii-sama's office; she had to let Ichigo know that she accepted his apology. She hadn't found him though, and part of her wondered if he wanted to be found or not- did he really think she held grudges for so long? He was still so lousy at hiding his reiatsu, she would definitely find him eventually, she just hadn't been looking in the right places apparently. She stopped to think for a moment and then ran towards the fifth division.

**I hope you forgive me, otherwise, please do not show anyone else this letter or tell Byakuya about what happened in the closet.**

She could not stop the giggles that mingled with her tears- in fact she kept jumping back and forth between the two emotions, she'd never felt so happy and sad, it made her feel strangely alive. It was like she had been blind to the world around her, and suddenly she could see, and everything was beautiful.

**The truth is that, I am bad at expressing myself, especially to you. Which is strange, because you're the person I want to understand the most, and I want you to understand me most as well.**

It had been that line more than any other which had sent Rukia running after Ichigo. It was vital that he understood she felt the exact same way. Of all the people she knew, the one she wanted to know the most about, and understand the best, was him.

**Please Rukia, I am not trying to win you over with impressive gifts. Nor would I ever see you as anything to be bought or won. The presents were simply something I wanted to give you and should have no bearing on the letter or your opinion of me.**

She'd have to show her friends those lines at least- no one would believe that Ichigo could be so… sincere and so sweet at the same time. Possibly Inoue and Momo-chan, but they'd probably be the only ones- Rangiku-san and Arisawa would certainly never believe it. Rukia still wasn't sure that she believed he'd written it.

**That's why, I'm not holding anything back- and I'm not trying to represent myself as anything other than what I am.**

Those words had sent a shiver down her spine. The instincts which had been making her cheeks flush and her heart beat faster had told her she was not imagining those words. He had really written them, and he'd meant them for her.

**The days I am happiest are the days when I see you, it doesn't matter if you beat me into a pulp or if we argue. Just as long as I can see you, it is enough to change a bad day into a good day.**

The blush that those words bought to her cheeks looked like a bad case of sunburn. She was only just beginning to be able to understand she how she felt about Ichigo. Living for more than fifty years didn't give you any greater experiences in understanding your feelings. If anything Rukia felt that she was probably just as confused, if not more, than any other girl.

**Dai suki, and I have to know if you feel the same way, if there is a chance for us.**

The letter had ended there, without even a name written and she'd fled her Nii-sama's office at those words, desperate to tell him that there was a chance. She was still confused, but some things were becoming clearer, especially the way she felt about Ichigo. She had to tell him that she felt the same way.

* * *

Toshiro and Momo were walking back to Seireitei, he had the empty basket and blanket in one hand and Momo's hand in the other. They kept exchanging loving looks, and as such, made a nauseatingly sweet picture of a young couple in love.

They were a little surprised to see Kurosaki Ichigo hiding behind a tree outside of the fifth division. It was a useless move of course, since he wasn't suppressing his reiatsu very well at all. To be honest, the tree didn't do much to hide him either, his orange hair stood out against the green leaves far too clearly.

"Kurosaki-taicho?" Momo questioned, she'd never seen him hiding before- running often, but never hiding.

"Shh- Hinamori, don't let anyone know I'm here," he hissed, looking at them briefly, before ducking behind the tree.

Then two minutes later Kurosaki jumped out again, took another look at the couple and his jaw dropped.

"You two are holding hands," he proclaimed, pointing at them.

"Hai," Momo replied, Toshiro just sighed- Kurosaki was an idiot through and through.

"But- but," Kurosaki stuttered shaking the finger he was pointing at them for emphasis.

"ICHIGO!" Rukia yelled suddenly jumping into the scene.

"Ru-ki-a," he pronounced slowly, turning to face her with a look of dread.

"You-," she had some paper crushed against her chest and looked to be on the verge of tears.

Kurosaki panicked, he jumped to lie on the ground, bowing in complete submissiveness before her "I'm sorry,"

Kuchiki Byakuya crashed into the ground right in front of Kurosaki, just between the boy and Rukia. Senbonzakura was at Kurosaki's throat before anyone had even registered their surprise at Kuchiki's sudden appearance.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, please explain the situation," Kuchiki's eyes had narrowed to a dangerous black slit.

"Momo- I think we should give them some privacy," Toshiro said, pulling her into a fast walk away from fifth division.

* * *

It was a very strange scene. Her Nii-sama was glaring at Ichigo and Senbonzakura was at the orange-haired boy's throat, and Rukia hadn't the faintest idea why.

Ichigo was also looking a little pale, even scared of her Nii-sama it seemed, and Ichigo certainly kept looking at him like Nii-sama was going to release his bankai.

Rukia was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Answer me Kurosaki- what is going on?" Kuchiki said sternly, sounding like he was not too far away from slitting Ichigo's throat.

Ichigo swallowed nervously, he looked at her once, and then bowed his head, "I am sorry Byakuya, but this is a problem between Rukia and I. Our fighting got out of hand, more so than usual, and we are the only ones who can resolve it," he said sounding very dignified.

Rukia was impressed, and she guessed that by the way her Nii-sama's glare softened, he was also a little impressed by Ichigo's words. But that did not mean that her Nii-sama was going to let Ichigo off the hook so easily.

Nii-sama didn't need to say anything, he simply radiated disapproval. He obviously didn't like the idea of Rukia and Ichigo talking in private at all. She wasn't sure how she felt about having an 'officially' private talk with Ichigo. She knew exactly how Nii-sama would see this, and consequently how the rest of Seireitei would see it.

"Byakuya Nii-sama, can we speak alone for a minute? Please?" she asked, making her eyes as big and sad as possible.

He gave her a hard look, "I will wait for you inside the division," he said firmly.

'**I will intrude on your conversation if you take more than that minute**,**'** were the words he did not say.

"Of course Nii-sama," she agreed. She was obviously going to have to resort to duplicity; otherwise she was never going to be able to set everything right with Ichigo. One minute was not enough to be able to say everything that needed to be said.

Her Nii-sama gave her a hard look, but he trusted her, which made her feel a little guilty, but she really did need to talk to Ichigo. It was all in a good cause.

Nii-sama left them, and she waited a few seconds to make sure he was out of earshot and eyeshot.

"Ichigo, I-" she found herself wanting to speak, but not being able to say the words she needed, "Arigato for the letter, it was," her eyes met his, "it was really beautiful- I," she suddenly moved forward, "meet me tomorrow morning at eight in your division's office," she whispered.

"Did you? Do you?" he stuttered nervously.

"Hai and hai- but Nii-sama won't give us the time now to talk fully," she whispered.

"I can't meet you tomorrow- make it tonight," he said, moving closer.

"I'll have to sneak out- meet me at midnight?" she asked, her hands reaching for his.

"I'll be waiting," he whispered, holding her hands in his, and then, greatly daring, he leaned forward and pecked her quickly on the lips.

Rukia probably would have thrown caution to the wind and jumped into his arms, except she quite clearly felt her Nii-sama's reiatsu. She quickly began walking towards her Nii-sama, except that one last thing needed to be said.

"Oh and Ichigo," she called out to him.

He looked at her questioningly.

"Arigato for the presents," she said impishly grinning.

He gave her a smile, "anything for you," he said, only partly mocking her.

Nii-sama gave her a suspicious look, and so she gave him a gentle smile. Apparently it relieved his suspicions, because he gave Ichigo his usual glare and then walked off, leaving her to follow. She did, throwing one last look back at the boy who watched her anxiously, giving her a strangely sweet smile when he noticed her attention.

She couldn't wait for that night, but she hid the glowing smile that stretched across her face at the thought from her Nii-sama, she wasn't a baka.

Neither was Byakuya, and when rumours began spreading around Seireitei he looked at her with suspicion once more. Tales of Ichigo giving everyone he met smiles, giving his whole division a special holiday from paperwork, and being in such a generally good mood were quite odd.

Especially since these tales only took an hour to generate- Byakuya wasn't foolish, the timeline was very coincidental, and he did not believe in coincidence. He resolved to watch his imoto and Kurosaki far more closely. But he still went to bed in his own division, and sent Rukia to go to hers in the thirteenth, never believing that she would go to a midnight rendezvous instead.

* * *

Toshiro rather stupidly took Momo to his temporary office and unexpectedly found Matsumoto, still imprisoned in there. He couldn't believe it had taken her eight hours to only get through three quarters of both stacks. He'd clearly overestimated her abilities.

She was crying, which instantly won Momo's sympathy, and aroused Toshiro's suspicion. There was something very odd about this situation.

"Matsumoto, please explain what is wrong?" he said, not really wanting an answer.

"Taicho, my breasts aren't attractive anymore," she sobbed.

He supposed that would be completely off topic to say that he'd never found her breasts to be attractive. Rather he hated her massive chest, since he was constantly smothered by it.

"Rangiku-san, what do you mean?" Momo asked.

"Kira ran away, he didn't want to look at them," the blonde woman sobbed, collapsing onto the desk.

Kira? That was new, who would have thought she'd be interested in Kira?

He'd honestly thought she was completely superficial and only chose relationships based on looks. It seemed Matsumoto was also the kind of woman who liked a challenge- poor Kira had ensured his own doom by claiming he could resist her.

"Nei, Momo-chan, you look very pretty-" Matsumoto said suddenly, apparently finished with most of her tears, her eyes suddenly running over them.

"Arigato Rangiku-san," Momo said with a smile.

"Taicho- are you and Momo-chan holding hands?" Her blue eyes were too shrewd behind those crocodile tears, "and is that grass in Momo-chan's hair?" she managed to sound both shocked and scandalised.

Momo flushed, and Toshiro was feeling a little warm himself, "we were having a picnic in a forest," he explained, and then realised, too late, that he shouldn't have said anything.

"Grass only comes from the ground taicho, but I suppose Momo-chan lay down, as she likes to when on a picnic- with those blushes though, people might think that you and Momo-chan were doing something rather… naughty," Matsumoto raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Let's go Momo," he said abruptly, not wanting to here anymore out of Matsumoto.

"Oh, so you're on a first name basis now," Matsumoto said.

He walked Momo out of the office, leaving his fukutaicho exactly where she was. It took her a few minutes to realise that he really wasn't coming back, and that he was actually going to leave her stuck to the desk all night.

"TAICHO! TAICHO!" she screamed- and it was sweet music to his ears.

"IT WAS ONLY A JOKE! PLEASE COME BACK!" she screeched.

"That woman," he grumbled, "she manages to make everything sound so sordid. We were only kissing," he complained, still a little pink.

Momo giggled, "Toshiro, did Rangiku-san embarrass you?"

He scowled at her, "I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of anything- and certainly not you," he proclaimed.

The seriousness in his voice stilled her giggles, "arigato Toshiro," she whispered, suddenly hugging him, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Arigato for today," he whispered, holding her tightly and twisting his head to kiss her goodnight, "and I'm planning tomorrow," he said kissing her again. It was deeper, more passionate than before and it made her melt against him. He parted from her and then left her on her doorstep with a silly smile on her face and a dreamy look in her eyes.

Momo practically flopped into her room, forgetting any pity she felt for Rangiku-san.

Who could think of anything or anyone else when he'd just kissed her like that?

* * *

On a different floor, three doors down, Rukia was thinking the same thing. She and Ichigo had rather rapidly gotten past any issues of misunderstanding. They had also found that the issue of groping was not quite as distressing as Ichigo had feared.

In fact, Rukia was quite amenable to being groped, as long as her Nii-sama wasn't in the vicinity. She was even happier to be kissed after being spoilt with chocolates, flowers and most especially; Chappy items.

They were currently making a mess of his desk; the paperwork had been flung everywhere and anywhere on the floor. They rolled off the desk, onto the floor, and like a gentleman, he'd taken the weight of the fall. She'd taken advantage of him being winded, and was now latched onto his neck.

"Rukia- leaving a hicky there is not going to go unnoticed," he groaned.

"That's the point, you're mine now strawberry," she whispered against his skin.

"Possessive," he noted, pulling her hard down on his body.

"It's all or nothing with me," she said, half-aggressively, half-nervously.

"Fine with me," he said, and he felt her smile against his skin, "does that mean I can mark you as well?" he inquired.

"Only if you make the right moves," she said, making him laugh.

"Oh I'll make them," he promised, rolling on top.

She kissed him, her arms winding around his neck, fingers digging into his skin. He moved his head down, lightly kissing his way down her neck. He barely realised that she'd moved her hands until his haori and his robes somehow slipped off...

"Fair is fair Rukia," he said, pointedly staring at his bare top half and her clothed top half.

She squeaked and jumped out from his arms, bolting across the room, he was stunned, and then he leapt into the chase. He caught her, not that she was trying to escape him very convincingly- if she'd really wanted to, she would have been out of the room before he'd moved.

She even helped him remove her robes, kissing him the whole time. He was just glad that Byakuya had no idea what they were doing.

* * *

Byakuya woke up in the middle of the night in the division beside Kurosaki's. A tingling sense had awoken him in the night proclaiming that Rukia was in 'danger'.

He couldn't sense anything actively wrong in Seireitei, and therefore everything was fine. It never once crossed his mind that she could be topless in the fifth division office with Kurosaki.

Almost right under his nose…

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I hope you all like this - at last both couples seem to have finally worked everything out!

Oh and for people who don't know Ichigo- the name used for the character means 'first guardian', however the word Ichigo can also mean strawberry. Which explains the nickname- Ichigo hates being called that in the series.

Anyhow, I'll probably update in the next week- please R & R, it helps!!

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Translation of Japanese Words:

_Arigato-_ Thank you

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Dai Suki-_ I like/love you (since it is more casual than 'Aishiteru', it is more common, very common in first time confessions of love/liking)

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	6. Chapter 5:Being Completely Misunderstood

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Hi there folks- I got a lot of people feeling sorry for Matsumoto- believe me she didn't suffer too much- and Kira is really the one to feel sorry for in this chapter!

**I am sorry that this took so long to put up, and I won't bore you with excuses, needless to say I'll try not to take too long to put up the next chapter.**

**I'd like to thank Lychee Green Tea (my new beta) for assisting with this chapter. Also, thanks to everyone for their reviews, I really needed the encouragement for this chapter.**

**I hope you enjoy it!**

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Chapter Five: Being Completely Misunderstood

Momo was rather dreamily making her way to the fifth division office; yesterday had been a magical day, and she was hoping for another one.

She got a rude shock when she walked into the office to find a lot more bare skin than should have been showing. Kurosaki-taicho was asleep, holding a sleeping Rukia-san in his arms, and both of them were quite noticeably missing their gi's amongst other things. She turned away quickly and debated inwardly about what to do. Finally she decided on the most sensible course of action.

"Kurosaki-taicho," she said in a loud voice- there was no answer, so she called him again; louder, "**Kurosaki-taicho, Rukia-san**," she almost yelled.

What if someone else walked in on them? Or already had?

Kuchiki-taicho would kill her taicho, and she didn't really want Kurosaki-taicho to die; she was very fond of him, even if he did annoy Toshiro.

There was finally some groaning behind her, "Please wake up," she said plaintively, and there were a few startled cries and some suspicious rustling in response.

"We're decent Momo-chan," Rukia-san said.

Momo turned around, relieved to see them both fully clothed and looking quite embarrassed, but still glowing in a manner she was intimately familiar with. She gave them a raised eyebrow, trying to keep herself from laughing at their faces.

"I'd better go," Rukia-san said, sounding very awkward, and she left, but not before kissing Kurosaki-taicho's cheek.

Momo managed to keep a smirk off her face as she watched Kurosaki-taicho visibly restrain himself from melting into a puddle as Rukia-san walked out of the office. The shorter woman obviously had very good control of her man, and Momo wondered if she should ask for tips.

"Kurosaki-taicho, you spent another night in the office," she said with a small smile.

"Hinamori, I... sorry about that," he stumbled, looking at her chin, not her eyes.

"So, I won't have to wake you both up every morning?" she asked teasingly.

"Hinamori!" he protested, finally meeting her eyes.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," she laughed.

"Oh, before I forget; is everything okay, between you and the chibi now?" Kurosaki-taicho asked, surprising her.

"Hai," she repeated astonished, before remembering that no one actually knew she and Toshiro had kissed, let alone spent so much time together as a couple.

Kurosaki-taicho had apparently left her alone to cool down for three days, and then decided to make sure that she was alright. But he'd also seen them holding hands- and he probably had healthy suspicions from that. He wasn't a complete idiot.

Part of her was a little indignant that he'd taken so long to approach her about it. But he obviously had respect for the damage she could do, and she had been in such a good mood since blowing up part of the tenth division that it was almost impossible to think anything could be wrong with her.

She was sure he wouldn't have left it for so long if he'd been seriously worried, but he was very good at giving people their space when they needed it. He was like a big brother in that respect, and it was rather nice to have someone like him as her taicho.

"Everything is very good between us," she said quite openly, and very stupidly; her mind on Toshiro, not the question.

"Oh, I see," he said, raising an eyebrow. Apparently he was better at reading her than she'd realised, because she flushed darkly under that knowing gaze.

"Kurosaki-taicho," she began.

"A secret for a secret is a fair trade, I believe," he cut in.

"Hai, but even so, I would not have told anyone about you and Rukia-san," she said earnestly.

"I know," he said smiling, and he walked towards the door, "-oh and Hinamori," he called back.

"Kurosaki-taicho?" she enquired.

"If Toshiro ever makes you cry, I'll smash him into the ground," he said gravely.

He doubted that would ever happen- the chibi would rather die than see anything slightly bad happen to Hinamori.

"If Rukia-san ever makes you cry, I'll use my strongest kido on her," Momo offered just as seriously.

She couldn't see the other girl ever hurting Kurosaki-taicho like that… and the thought of Kurosaki-taicho crying was a strange one, but, the offer had to be acknowledged and reciprocated.

It was all part of the bond between a taicho and fukutaicho- a fierce friendship, with deep respect, loyalty and support.

"Arigato Hinamori," he acknowledged, leaving the office.

Arigato Kurosaki-taicho," she said, smiling.

Her smile dropped when he left and she suddenly noticed the state of the office. It was a complete mess, and any plans she'd had for a ten minute attempt at paperwork, and then abandoning the office for Toshiro's arms vanished.

It just wasn't fair, her taicho could leave her with such a mess to do training he didn't need, after spending the night with his girlfriend. Whereas she couldn't go see her boyfriend because she had to be a good fukutaicho and bail him out of trouble.

This was another part of the taicho-fukutaicho bond, but this was the unfair part.

She sighed and settled down to work.

'_I wonder what Toshiro had planned for us today anyway…'_

* * *

Rangiku brushed her hair one last time, checked herself over again and gave her 'valley' another quick spray of perfume. She'd polished her necklace and she had even applied makeup- mainly mascara, lots of hairspray and a dark red lipstick.

Kira had better appreciate the effort she was making for him, even if he didn't know about it. No one insulted her chest and got away with it- NO ONE!

She walked into the office. She needed an honest opinion on her appearance, and her taicho was one of the only men she could trust to be honest. If she had overloaded on the makeup or perfume- which could be a major turn off, she needed to know.

Rangiku walked to the office; all bouncing breasts and sparkling smiles. She got quite a lot of murmurs of appreciation and several men walked into walls because they couldn't stop staring at her. All the attention went a long way towards soothing her rattled feelings after Kira's grievous insults.

Her taicho gave her a sharp look when she entered their temporary office; their original office simply needed two more days before it would be finished. The fifth division's sudden burst of labour had put the rebuilding three days ahead of schedule.

"I trust you had a good night's sleep," he said smugly.

"Hai," she ground out, and resisted the urge to throttle him.

He'd released her from the ice, at midnight, which meant that she'd been stuck in the office for sixteen hours straight- a new record, especially when it didn't involve sleeping on the couch. She'd had to sit in a hot bath for an hour before bed to defrost and unstiffen her aching muscles.

"I'm so glad to hear it," he said and smirked before returning to his paperwork.

"Taicho- do I look good?" she asked, posing for him.

He gave her an incredulous look, and was clearly wondering if he could just ignore the question. She wasn't about to give him that option. She sat herself down heavily on the desk, jarring him as he attempted to fill out another sheet of paper. He glared at her, and was apparently weighing up the risks of answering and not answering her.

"You look perfectly fine," he informed her- which was a carefully designed statement to tell her nothing and make her give up on badgering him.

"Taicho," she wailed, "I need to look better than I usually do!"

"What's wrong with the way you normally look?" he asked bluntly, hoping she'd leave him alone and do some work.

"Kira turned me down!" she complained, slumping into a seat wearing a ridiculous pout that would have suited a four year old- not a fully grown woman.

"He didn't turn you down- he simply told you that your breasts would not work on him when you tried to manipulate him. That's not the same thing," Hitsugaya-taicho pointed out too sensibly.

"No one says that- not about me!" she cried, "and I'm going to prove it!" and she'd left the office, without having done one piece of paperwork, but for once, Toshiro wasn't concerned by that fact.

He was instead considering the implications of her statement. His eyes widened, and suddenly sat up throwing back his chair and shot out of the office after her.

He had to get to Kira first.

Running into Kurosaki Ichigo was an unplanned event- especially because it was the first time he'd ever literally run into anyone. Ichigo didn't fall, being the heavier of the two, but Toshiro landed flat on his back, and felt quite angry about it.

"Kurosaki you baka!" he swore, pulling himself to his feet.

"What is with the tenth division today- Rangiku-san almost ran me over as well," Kurosaki complained rubbing his hair.

Toshiro then stupidly focused on the other taicho, and his jaw dropped. "Kurosaki- you, your neck!" he pointed.

The taller boy looked rather embarrassed and his hand rose to cover what was definitely a hicky.

"That was Rukia-san's work," Momo said with a smile, popping up from behind Kurosaki suddenly.

The orange haired boy jumped, "Hinamori!" he shrieked.

"Sorry Kurosaki-taicho," Momo said with a smile.

"Kuchiki Rukia?" questioned Toshiro. His mind had completely stopped working at the mere implication of Kuchiki Rukia being the one to give Kurosaki Ichigo a hicky.

"Hai, I found them together this morning," Momo cheerfully confirmed.

"Traitor!" Kurosaki accused Momo.

"No, I said I would not tell anyone, but Toshiro is not just anyone, is he?" she asked looking at them both.

It wasn't a question, but an order.

The two boys exchanged a look, and then both sighed, "Hai," they agreed in complete and reluctant resignation. Toshiro would have been much happier not knowing about Kurosaki's love life, and he was sure that the taller boy felt exactly the same way.

Unfortunately they didn't have a choice- hopefully Momo wouldn't get Rukia into double dating- since that was something neither boy would ever willingly agree to. However, both had a sinking feeling that this was another doom looming in their horizons.

The worst thing was the knowledge that **if **double dates occurred, then the girls might get Inoue Orihime involved and that meant triple dating- with the Quincy. That was probably a more appealing option than Kurosaki, but to be honest, Toshiro preferred Momo's company in a completely exclusive basis.

The two taicho and the fukutaicho began heading off towards the meeting. It was perhaps completely natural (given their relationship) that Toshiro and Momo ended up walking side by side, just a step behind Kurosaki. Toshiro ignored the knowing look the taller boy sent him, and greedily watched her, absorbing every movement she made, and committing it to memory.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, sounding amused.

He held out a hand, and she took it, "I should hope not, after all the trouble you've given me," he murmured in a low voice.

"Trouble, me?" she teased in a soft voice, trying to sound innocent.

"You're nothing but trouble," he informed her.

She mock-glared and then stuck her tongue out at him. He smirked in response and pretended to ignore her.

They continued walking, although Kurosaki seemed to be walking a lot faster now.

Toshiro had completely forgotten about any urgency in Kira's situation, actually he had completely forgotten about Kira at all. He was walking beside the girl he loved on a beautiful morning, and Kurosaki had very sensibly walked ahead to give them some privacy.

The minute Kurosaki rounded the corridor and was out of sight, Toshiro pulled Momo into his arms.

"Toshiro," Momo said teasingly, "what are you doing?" she asked, her arms settling around his waist.

He didn't bother with words, instead he kissed her, and she made no protest. She even seemed to have been expecting it, because she kissed him back just as hungrily, her tongue brushing against his.

"We have been parted less than ten hours," she reminded him, breaking the kiss.

"I still missed you," he said, clutching her to him tightly.

"I missed you too," she said, her hands digging into his shoulders as his mouth found her neck and began making a slow way down.

"You know- perhaps we should be going to the meeting," Toshiro said, attempting to sound innocent, instead he sounded completely insincere. His hands were wandering down her back, his mouth still torturously on her neck, using his teeth and tongue, making her squirm.

"Just a few more minutes," Momo protested, pulling his head up to kiss his mouth, her hands digging into his hair.

The kiss was openly passionate, and the pair leant back against the wall, hands wandering far more dangerously with every minute. They both knew neither of them were going anywhere fast.

Any thoughts of saving Kira had gone completely out of his head. It was quite a shame he'd bumped into Momo when trying to save the other fukutaicho; she was very distracting...

Kurosaki Ichigo had waited five minutes for his fukutaicho and Toshiro, but neither of them was coming and there were no footsteps either. They were quite obviously going to be a while- and it was not something he would ordinarily begrudge the pair. But they would be late for the meeting if this continued, and he had no interest in being yelled at by Yamamoto-Soutaicho. Again.

"HURRY UP YOU TWO- WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!" He yelled around the corner- not looking- he was definitely not interested in that.

He heard some muttered swearing- and not all in Toshiro's voice. He was actually quite surprised and awed by Hinamori's vocabulary.

They finally appeared, looking a bit untidier than they had before, and both gave him very unfriendly looks before walking onto the meeting. He noticed, and wondered if they would realise before they walked into the meeting room, that they were holding hands.

He inwardly smirked- he'd love to see them interrogated about their relationship at the meeting. Certainly they'd claimed that they were 'just friends' every single time they were questioned about it, and it was amusing to see the colours they turned and watch them stutter denials every time.

* * *

Kira Izuru was tired from working all night to catch up on the paperwork he'd neglected the previous afternoon, because of Matsumoto-san. Well, he had attempted to do the paperwork, but he hadn't exactly made a great deal of progress. His mental focus had been clouded by light blue eyes amongst her other features; she really was beautiful.

He was talking with Abarai-kun, Iba-san and Hisagi-san. They were all waiting for the meeting to begin- the tenth and fifth divisions were both running late. The Soutaicho was beginning to look a little irritated, but everyone else, even his fukutaicho seemed happy enough to be able to socialise a little before the meeting began.

He ignored Matsumoto-san when she came into the meeting, although he thought that for some reason she looked more beautiful than ever at this particular moment. She certainly drew many admiring stares and lots of comments.

She ignored them all, and walked right up to Izuru, forcing him to acknowledge her presence. He gave her a brief nod, and then focused on a wall over her head; he was most definitely not going to make the mistake of looking at her chest again.

"Nei- Izuru," she said in a sing-song voice, and he stupidly looked into her eyes. He had been startled by her using his given name- only Ichimaru-taicho had done that.

He was almost drowned by the luminous glow of her eyes, and she didn't help him at all by throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer. He didn't notice the envious and disbelieving looks being thrown his way; instead he was focused on trying to escape her. Her arms were like steel cords- she was a heck of a lot stronger than she looked, and against his will, he was impressed.

This time when he looked away, he chose to look at the ceiling instead, because otherwise he knew he would not escape this encounter unscathed. He was just a little taller than she was, so the strategy worked well enough and it kept him out of her reach.

Matsumoto-san squeezed herself against him (as if any sane person could ignore her breasts even without this kind of close contact) apparently she felt that he was not responsive enough to her proximity. She leaned up; and he strained his neck looking up even higher.

"Izuru, my eyes are down here," she scolded, trying to wrench his head down to her level.

She wasn't the only one who was stronger than they looked. She put all of her effort into it, but Izuru won this round. So Matsumoto-san changed tactics; she tried climbing up him, hopping, and then wrapping her legs around his waist in one quick move, and suddenly, he had no ceiling to look at. Only breasts or blue eyes…

He knew he was fire engine red, heading onto scarlet, "Matsumoto-san," he managed not to stutter. His hands had followed instinct had grabbed onto her bottom to stop her from sliding off, he went even redder at the realisation that he was publicly groping her.

"What?" she asked in a soft, purring voice, getting closer, lowering her head to his.

His brain was beginning to melt, and he desperately chose to say the only thing that he knew would get her off him, "Matsumoto-san- you're too heavy,"

There was a sudden silence.

"WHAT?" she shrieked, jumping out of his arms and thankfully out of his personal space.

'_That was too close,'_

"Sorry, but it's the truth," he said, refusing to flatter her or give in to her.

It was an obscure point of pride, but he wouldn't allow her to manipulate him like she did everyone else. He'd started this campaign the previous day, and now he had to follow through.

Her mouth fell open and she stared at him in complete disbelief. Actually he felt it too at some level, and the rest of the room were looking at him with wide eyes.

He was quite relieved when Kurosaki-taicho and Hitsugaya-taicho stepped into the room with Hinamori-kun. The two taicho stepped quickly into their positions, and just like that the attitude in the room changed and suddenly the meeting began.

They were not forgetting the previous events; merely putting them on pause until the Soutaicho left the room, taking the propriety belonging to Shinigami of taicho and fukutaicho class with him.

Izuru settled into the meeting, well aware of a constant gaze on him and lots of curious looks. He ignored Matsumoto-san as best he could, wondering if she was trying to bore a hole into his head with the power of her glare. She really hated any comment that could even slightly be taken as critical, and as much as he liked her, that irritated him. She was older than him, and normally he went to her for advice, but in this situation, he felt that she really needed to grow up.

He basically ignored the entire speech given by the Soutaicho, and every other speaker at the meeting. He was planning the quickest route out of there, hoping to avoid Matsumoto-san and another 'display'.

Unfortunately, for some unjustifiable and completely unfair reason, the tenth division was closer to the exit than the third. So she cut him off before he even had a chance to escape, using her breasts as a battering ram and he bounced backwards.

"Matsumoto-san, I have a lot of paperwork," he said.

"It can wait," she said, blue eyes dangerously narrowed.

"But-" he protested

She pounced, and he only just escaped, dodging around her and attempting to run for it. He really needed eyes in the back of his head, because she pounced and grabbed his legs, tripping him.

By the time he had gotten off the floor, she was right in front of him. She jumped him immediately, and he ended up, pinned on the floor underneath her. He flushed bright crimson- why did she have to straddle him in front of all the taicho and other fukutaicho?

It was bad enough that he had a reputation for being a little girly, but now Matsumoto-san was on top? His image was completely sunk…

"Matsumoto-san, would you please-"

"Not until you take back what you said,"

Izuru blinked; that was what this was all about? Her vanity? She had done all this work, put in all this effort because he'd hurt her pride. All he'd need to say to be released was that her breasts did work on him and that she wasn't heavy, but…

"No," he said with a confidence that surprised himself.

"What?" she shrieked.

"You heard me. I won't take either comment back," he said crossing his arms and looking up at the ceiling to reinforce his words.

She wriggled around on top- a terribly unfair move. He was male, and there are some things that are bound to happen. He was just thankful that her position prevented her from grinding too deeply- he hadn't reacted, yet. He was terrified that she would work out that it was just a matter of time, but refused to show it.

She looked distinctly disgruntled at his 'lack of response'- apparently it was adding to her insecurity of her own image. She huffed, and made no response; it seemed like she was going to stay true to her word- she wasn't moving. He didn't know whether to feel lucky or scared.

"Matsumoto- have you gone completely insane?" a familliar voice roared.

Izuru could have kissed the tenth division's taicho. Hitsugaya-taicho forced Matsumoto-san to her feet and off of Izuru.

"But taicho!" she protested.

"Matsumoto, I've already told you; breasts are not considered tools of battle- don't use them on the enemy or on a friend. Now stop this foolishness right now, you are a fukutaicho; you're supposed to be an example- not a dominatrix!" Hitsugaya-taicho yelled.

"I wasn't trying to be a dominatrix," she protested, "he insulted my breasts!" she declared.

Muttered gasps and whispers from both men and women went around the room and Izuru flushed again; he wanted to explain that it wasn't how it sounded.

The female population of the room were actually glaring at him quite hostilely, even Unohana-taicho and Kotetsu-san. If he'd thought it would help, he would have said that he loved breasts- but that would get him beaten up as a pervert. He just couldn't win this battle.

Hitsugaya-taicho looked like he wanted to strangle Matsumoto-san, and Izuru was beginning to know that feeling well. She complicated everything so unnecessarily.

It was Yachiru's comment that finally removed the focus from Izuru and Matsumoto-san, and he was so grateful that he bought the pink-haired terror candy for the next two weeks straight. Kurosaki-taicho was not so glad of the brat's keen eyesight.

"Nei, Ken-chan, why has orange-berry-taicho got a bruise on his neck?" the little girl asked her taicho quite seriously.

"No Yachiru-chan, that's not a bruise, that's a hicky," Momo corrected sweetly, before she'd thought about the implications of her statement. She immediately covered her mouth and muttered an apologetic "gomen" to Kurosaki-taicho.

Too late; the damage was done.

"Kurosaki has a hicky?" Just in case anyone had missed the exchange, Kyoraku-taicho's ringing voice brought the announcement right to everyone's attention.

The orange-haired teen scowled, daring them to comment. The other taicho and fukutaicho ignored his challenge outright, and immediately the gossip and questions flew thick and fast.

It was at this point that Toshiro made the worst move in history. He ran his hand through his hair, and in the process drew Kyoraku-taicho's attention to his neck. Unfortunately he also had a 'bruise' on his neck, and even more unfortunately it stood out quite starkly against his pale skin.

"Nei- Chibi-Shiro-Chan-taicho has a hicky too!" Yachiru shrieked in glee.

Toshiro blinked, shot the eleventh division's fukutaicho a glare and glared at everyone else, daring them to comment. Unfortunately, as Kurosaki-taicho had discovered the Gotei Thirteen was not intimidated by death glares of any sort.

"But if they both have hickies..." Isane-san mused out loud.

Kurosaki-taicho and Toshiro exchanged disbelieving, horror-struck looks, which were completely misunderstood by the Gotei Thirteen. Momo herself couldn't actually believe that a rational adult who knew the two (at least passably well) could think that they were even vaguely attracted to each other.

They didn't even really like each other, they constantly irritated and insulted each other.

Unfortunately the Gotei Thirteen didn't consider this. Instead the other taicho and fukutaicho looked at the facts- correct and false, to create evidence of a relationship between the pair.

"I knew Kurosaki was gay- how else could a hormone filled teenager have a kawaii girl like Rukia-chan in his room for months and not 'do' anything!" Kyoraku-taicho was saying to Ukitate-taicho.

Momo went pale red at that comment, vaguely wondering if in fact Kurosaki-taicho had put his hands on Rukia-san during that time. She also prayed that Kuchiki-taicho never found out anything about Rukia-san and Kurosaki-taicho's relationship.

"We are not gay!" the two boys were insisting, to a deaf and loudly gossiping audience, who ignored them completely.

Hisagi-san in particular was taking notes for the newspaper- Momo didn't want to think about what article headlines he would create. She was slightly grateful that no one had noticed her hickies yet; she didn't really want to be pulled into this discussion.

The pouting Rangiku-san was apparently not so upset by Kira-kun's strange comments, since she was adding a lot of fuel to the fire. She seemed determined to create a sensational story about her taicho and Kurosaki-taicho- and to completely ruin their images.

Rangiku-san was also giving Momo some rather merciless looks that promised future mischief. Momo wondered if she should run now, she just knew that she was going to get pulled into this mess.

"If you want proof that we aren't gay- then here it is!" Kurosaki-taicho had apparently reached the end of his endurance. He pointed at her, "She and Toshiro are together, look at her neck!" She probably deserved that after pointing out that he had a hicky; but even after trying to psych herself up for it, she still cringed at all the attention.

"Go taicho!" Rangiku-san cheered, and Momo flushed. She knew perfectly well what this was going to do to her reputation and Toshiro's.

"Shut up Matsumoto," Toshiro mumbled, quite red-cheeked himself.

Kurosaki-taicho was smirking at their predicament, and she exchanged a helpless glance with Toshiro. He gave her a wink, and she suddenly knew what he was going to do…

She felt a little sorry for Kurosaki-taicho, and was a little worried about how this would end up, but…

They were being badgered by their colleagues, it was more than annoying, and there needed to be a new sacrifice to save them.

"If you want to know where Kurosaki got his hicky, maybe you should ask your imoto," Toshiro said conversationally to Kuchiki-taicho, who was barely even taking part in the discussion.

Kurosaki-taicho shot Toshiro a glare, before he bolted, with an outraged Kuchiki-taicho right on his heels.

In the silence that followed that comment, Toshiro grabbed Momo and disappeared. They reappeared briefly in the courtyard before he scooped her up into his arms and shunpoed off with her.

"Toshiro?" she asked as they reappeared on a nearby roof.

"I organised some fireworks for tonight, and I made a booking for dinner beforehand. I thought that we would be too busy catching up on work and with the meeting to do much during the day, but maybe- we could start early?" he suggested.

"You read my mind," she said leaning back against him, and they disappeared within seconds, leaving rumours spreading behind them.

* * *

Rumours circled through Seireitei that Kurosaki Ichigo was in a relationship with Hitsugaya Toshiro and that Kuchiki Byakuya was getting revenge for a heartbroken Kuchiki Rukia.

Others said that Kurosaki was involved in a threesome with Hitsugaya and Kuchiki Rukia and now Byakuya was pursuing both taicho for vengeance for daring to touch her.

A third rumour said that the third party in the two boy's relationship was Hinamori Momo instead.

A fourth claimed that Hinamori and Hitsugaya were in a casual relationship and were involved in 'swapping' with Kurosaki and Kuchiki, who were also in a casual relationship.

A fifth claimed that both pairs were secretly engaged, and that both girls were quite possibly pregnant.

A sixth claimed that Byakuya actually wanted to be a part of the two boy's relationships, and his sexual frustration had grown to the point that he was willing to kill them if he wasn't included.

A seventh claimed that Kira Izuru was being pursued by Matsumoto Rangiku- most put this down to some very big 'hidden assets'; there was no woman who could substantiate it one way or another though.

The gossip column in the newspaper was phenomenal this week, and Hisagi Shuhei was guaranteed to be facing certain death for publishing it.

Especially since some of that gossip also appeared in the headlines, along with the news that Kuchiki Byakuya and Kurosaki Ichigo had been arrested for disrupting Seireitei and causing damages of over 50 million yen all over the city.

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Well, I really hope that it was what you were looking for- oh, and for anyone curious about my plans for this, remember- they are spending the week together and so far they are only on their third day. At this point I intend to finish the week.

Anyway, I hope to update soon- I won't make any promises though.

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Translation of Japanese Words:

_Arigato-_ Thank you

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Chibi-_ little/small

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Imoto-_ little sister

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Nei-_ hey

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	7. Chapter 6: Breaking all the Rules

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I have taken far too long to update this story again- I am so sorry.

**I felt that I didn't want took take any longer than I had to, so Lychee Green Tea wasn't able to check over the chapter for me, and I appologise if there are any spelling or gramatical mistakes. If you tell me about them I will correct them.**

**Anyway, here we have the sixth chapter, and I really hope you enjoy it.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers, and I can't emphasise how much the encouragement helped me finish the chapter.**

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Chapter Six: Breaking All the Rules

Yamamoto-Genryusai Shikegeni had many years of experience dealing with Shinigami, dealing with scandals, and with young people. The minute he glanced at the leading stories in the newspaper, he knew exactly what would happen.

He decided to stay out of it; years of experience had taught him that interfering would do nothing at this point. Besides he had no wish to get clawed by fingernails, have his beard yanked, or get kneed in the crotch again. There is a reason why the elderly are revered as wise; they've experienced everything.

He could tell the exact minute that Hitsugaya Toshiro read the paper. The temperature descended abruptly, the core of the cool weather beginning in the tenth division's new office.

Kurosaki Ichigo took a lot longer to reach the paper, and so did Kuchiki Byakuya. They'd been imprisoned in the first division, and Shikegeni was no fool, he'd sealed their reiatsu. He'd also made sure that they were not sharing a cell, or even in adjoining cells. He was resolved not to let them out, not until they'd calmed down and attempted to settle this issue.

Kuchiki Rukia was banned from the cells as was Abarai Renji- the situation did not need to be aggravated in any way. As such he'd also extended the ban to Hitsugaya Toshiro and Hinamori Momo, who were undeniably involved in the problem. It certainly had it's origins with them.

He frowned at that thought.

Hitsugaya Toshiro and Hinamori Momo were another problem, and so was Matsumoto Rangiku's scandalous pursuit of Kira Izuru. He couldn't have the discipline of the Gotei Thirteen upset by their behaviour; he'd need to talk with Hitsugaya about this.

Talking to Matsumoto was a lost cause, Kira wasn't the problem, and Shikegeni was always worried about making Hinamori cry. Perhaps he'd talk to Jyushiro, retire from work, and then get the younger man to take over his job and solve this problem- he was too old for such nonsense.

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro was currently walking towards the ninth division with a dark aura around him. He was in a mood to kill, and upon reading the newspaper he had restructured his entire day.

Kill Hisagi Shuhei was now at the top of the list, over paperwork, over almost anything- except Momo. But she hadn't interfered, so he remained undistracted and completely focused on his mission objective; obliterating the existence of the editor of the newspaper- which was trying to completely destroy any respect he commanded.

He was so focused on this that he almost ran into Ukitate, he didn't say anything to the other taicho, rudely brushing past him. Normally he would have felt bad, but at this moment, it was imperative that he annihilate Hisagi.

"Hitsugaya, I've got some chocolate for you," Ukitate said brightly, grabbing onto his arm and preventing him from walking further forwards.

Toshiro turned abruptly, about to tell Ukitate just where to 'stick' the chocolate. Unfortunately the older, craftier taicho had planned this to perfection.

Toshiro caught the chocolate on his turn, and mouth wide open about to insult his colleague, he swallowed it, blinked, and then his green eyes went wide in shock and he collapsed.

Jyushiro felt faintly ashamed of using drugs on a colleague, particularly one he was so fond of, but it needed to be done. Ambushing Hitsugaya when he was lost in anger was the only possible way to save Hisagi. It was the lesser evil.

"Oi handsome," Kyoraku called from where he was leaning against a nearby wall, "where are we going to put him?"

"There's only one place which will hold him," Jyushiro said wryly, feeling even guiltier now.

"Yama-ji is not going to like this," Kyoraku observed from under the brim of his hat with a smirk.

"I don't think we have a choice," Jyushiro shot back, pulling Hitsugaya off the floor, and carrying him carefully off towards the first division.

* * *

Hinamori Momo was more than a little shocked to see her boyfriend being abducted by Ukitate-taicho and Kyoraku-taicho. She rapidly forgot about any plans she'd had for killing Hisagi-san at the sight of the two taicho carrying Toshiro off towards the first division.

She had to know what was going on, her curiosity and worry were getting stronger with every step that the taicho took towards the first division.

She shadowed them, taking great care not to be seen. She watched them enter the division, and then watched them exit the division- without Toshiro. She circled the division trying to work out where exactly her lover had ended up.

She finally understood that there was only one place he could be, and so she ended up glaring at the outer walls of the jail. How dare they lock him up away from her!

She couldn't sense him, his reiatsu was obviously sealed, and so she didn't know which cell he was in. She began glaring at the walls again, she was going to get him out of there, but it required some planning, it required deviousness, and a distraction.

It also required patience, which was not her strong point.

But she still settled down to plot, something she had never been able to do before.

-That was what you did for love, and what it did to you. You changed yourself, and it changed you.

She thought everything through for an hour, before finally moving to act- she needed to make sure that this would work perfectly. But there were some events that she could never have taken into account.

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo was getting sick of pacing, but there was nothing else he could do in this damn cell. He'd been told that he would have an audience with the Soutaicho at 4 pm, but the time was positively crawling.

He wished he could see Rukia, but he'd been quite firmly told that it was _'not permitted'_. He was still feeling quite sour about it too, he missed her, they'd barely been a couple for twenty-four hours, and he longed for her.

He mentally saw images of Renji taking advantage of his absence with Rukia. He hated the fact that Byakuya was tied up in here too, that gave Renji far too much freedom with how he could act towards Rukia.

Ichigo was panicking; his pacing was getting faster, his fists clenched.

'_Damnit Renji- if you so much as touch Rukia, or even make a suggestion- I'll kill you!'_

The fact that he actually thought of Renji as a good friend was irrelevant. Almost everyone knew that the red head with in love with Rukia, and perhaps Ichigo had sort of betrayed Renji by getting involved with Rukia. He felt kind of guilty about that, but he refused to give up Rukia without a fight.

She'd freely chosen Ichigo; Renji had already blown his chance- he had a fifty year advantage over Ichigo. But Rukia had chosen Ichigo, not Renji, and he was fairly sure that she only saw the other boy as an older brother…

Even if she did like Renji as something more, she wouldn't betray Ichigo for the redhead. Rukia had honour and integrity; she'd never do that to anyone.

He was sure she wouldn't, he had no doubts at all, even if their relationship was so new…

He had no doubts whatsoever…

None at all.

He began pacing even faster, fingers tightly clenched into fists.

* * *

Abarai Renji was not the brightest man in Seireitei- far from it. Which was why, instead of attempting to court Rukia, he was confronting Kira about Rangiku-san. He was sure that Hisagi-san would want to be here too, except that the other man was hiding from Hitsugaya-taicho.

Renji wished him good luck, but was not about to get involved- his face was still healing and he had no wish to get injured again. His face burned whenever he changed expression and he would love to know who had done this to him, and why.

He drew his mind away from that- Unohana-taicho had done a lot for him, but she refused to waste her energy when it was not necessary. She also deemed it better for a wound to heal slowly and more naturally- especially if it was only a flesh wound- purely cosmetic and not fatal.

Apparently humiliation would not kill him.

Renji's protests over such treatment had only earned him scorn for a 'man with ink patterns all over his body'. He hadn't realised she had such strong opinions against tattoos, or the 'fools who voluntarily scarred themselves'. She didn't see the difference between the footprint and his tattoos, and after her initial lecture, he decided not to bother arguing the point.

Had he not been interested in Kira's situation, he would still have been hiding from the mockery. Division Eleven had been the worst- aside (of course) from Kuchiki-taicho's scathing remarks. Ironically the nobleman and Unohana-taicho had many opinions in common.

"So why is she interested in you? What did yousay? What did you **do**?" he demanded.

How had Kira (who always had problems talking with female colleagues) won over Rangiku-san, the beauty of the Gotei Thirteen?

"I- she, we,"

Kira was apparently having trouble describing the incident, which just made Renji more and more curious.

"Come on," he said, shaking the other man.

"I told her that her breasts wouldn't work on me," Kira finally admitted, going bright red, and not meeting Renji's eyes.

"YOU WHAT??"

Renji's yell echoed over all of Seireitei.

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia was wondering if someone had cancelled a funeral, she'd never seen so many flowers in her life. They were all for her too. Word had gotten around that her Nii-sama was imprisoned; therefore there he could not kill anyone who tried to court her.

She was a young, attractive, unmarried noblewoman- and she was starting to realise just how much her Nii-sama had sheltered her from. It was quite overwhelming, and she had no idea what to do with all the flowers- should she keep them? Should she return them?

What would send the right message?

Sometimes she felt like men were a different species, not just a different gender. That was why she liked Ichigo so much- she understood him, perhaps she couldn't predict what he'd do or say, but she still understood him. She knew him.

"Kuchiki, where do you want the next set of flowers placed?" asked Ukitate-taicho, entering the room with his arms full of brightly coloured bouquets. Kotsubaki-sanzeki and Kotetsu-sanzeki followed at his heels, their faces could barely be seen from behind the flowers.

Rukia's mouth dropped open, there were more of them?

Then she spotted large envelopes nestled in the bouquets and a sickening realisation hit her- they were love letters. But the only letter she wanted, the only one that meant anything to her, was the one that she had tucked into her robes, over her heart.

'_Nii-sama, Ichigo, I wish you were here. I don't know how to deal with all of this,'_

"Oh, and Kuchiki- I ordered the chocolates to be sent to the kitchen- I feared they would melt if they were kept in your rooms. Also I believe there was some statuary, kimonos, jewellery and pot plants amongst this lot- I ordered them to be sent onto the Kuchiki mansion, since they were taking up so much room. I trust that I made an acceptable decision?" Ukitate-taicho asked her seriously.

She nodded numbly, but then he piped up "I also sent the next lot of flowers onto division four, since I thought that your rooms were looking full and Unohana is always complaining that not enough people send flowers to the people in her care. I removed the cards and kept them for you though,"

Rukia shuddered at the thought of piling anything more into her room. It was completely full of flowers, they were everywhere- she still didn't know where she would be able to sleep that night.

She was definitely going to petition the Soutaicho for the release of one of her boys. She needed somewhere to sleep and she needed their help- they were the only two who'd be able to save her now. Renji had completely disappeared, not even the gossip of all the gifts she was getting had reached him. She was a little disappointed; she usually could count on him in these situations.

'_Renji, Ichigo, Ni-sama- you are all idiots,'_

* * *

"Trust me, this plan will work," Abarai-kun said, with a confidence that Izuru could not believe was justified.

"You want me to grope Soifon-taicho?" he questioned, making sure he had heard correctly.

"You want to escape Rangiku-san, and the only place she can't reach you in is the jail cells. You need to insult someone enough for them to place you in there- which means they need to be a taicho. None of the men will stand between you and Rangiku-san, she'll seduce them to get you off the charges in order to get close to you- and make you feel indebted," Abarai-kun pointed out.

In a twisted way it made sense.

"Therefore there is only Unohana-taicho and Soifon-taicho. Out of the two, Soifon-taicho is the safer bet," Abarai-kun stated.

"Why?" Izuru asked.

"Do you want to grope Unohana-taicho?" Abarai-kun whispered, looking scared.

Izuru was about to answer, that she was so friendly looking and mild that he was sure groping Soifon could not be safer.

Then he thought about it…

"Where is Soifon-taicho?" he asked.

No man possessed of good sense would ever grope Unohana-taicho.

Soifon-taicho would try to kill him and almost certainly castrate, maim and horribly injure him. She could never be as terrifying as Unohana-taicho though.

"Follow me," said Abarai-kun, and they walked out solemnly, "it is a brave thing you do Kira," he murmured. It sounded like a funeral elegy.

Izuru was trying very hard to think of a way out of this.

Soifon-taicho had never- according to 'official records' ever been groped, every man who had ever tried had been… 'Accidentally killed in training,'

In fact it had been so 'accidental' that Unohana-taicho hadn't been able to make the remains presentable for the family afterwards.

He couldn't believe that Abarai-kun had talked him into this, but something had to be done. Rangiku-san had followed him into the showers, into his room; she'd even tried to pull him underneath a bush, in her mad attempts to make him change his mind.

She had no care about the public eye or respectability. It was the first time he'd managed to escape from her all morning, and he knew it meant no good. She was obviously up to something.

He unexpectedly bumped into Soifon-taicho on the way into her division, with the overgrown Omeada by her side. He was surprised, so was Abarai-kun and he almost missed his chance to grab her. He regained his nerve and before he could lose it, he grabbed her shoulder- at least he intended to.

It was hardly his fault that she mistook his actions for an attack. She leapt into the air, so instead of shoulder, his hand landed a lot lower. It was only for a split second, and he got kicked into a wall for his troubles, but he felt oddly triumphant about it.

"You groped me!" Soifon-taicho growled, her face red, her fists so tightly clenched that they were cracking.

Izuru had the sinking feeling that the worst was yet to come. He couldn't protest that this was an accident- not only would it not get him into jail, but it was a lie, and to be honest, he doubted the excuse would even penetrate her skull. She was completely enraged.

Abarai-kun and Omeada leapt for Soifon-taicho as she leapt at him.

Izuru unfortunately landed on the bottom of a pile of the three. He would have been alright without Omeada, but fate was not that kind, and he was sure that because of the extra weight he'd broken several ribs.

"Calm down taicho. I'll have him taken to the jail cells in the first division, until you consider a suitable punishment for him," Omeada soothed the irate woman, for once actually doing a good job of consoling her.

"See that he is well secured," Soifon-taicho said in an icy voice.

She never saw the money changing hands between Abarai-kun and Omeada, but Izuru did. He raised an eyebrow at his oldest friend.

"The idiot told me that no one would ever grope Soifon-taicho. I told him that it would happen someday. We had a three thousand yen bet going," Abarai-kun explained.

"You're just lucky that we never put a time limit on that bet," Omeada grumbled.

"When did you make it?" Izuru asked, feeling used.

"Thirty-two years ago," Omeada said sourly.

"I want half the profits," Izuru said firmly.

"WHAT?" Abarai-kun gaped.

"Otherwise I'll tell Soifon-taicho about the bet," Izuru said.

"That's blackmail," Abarai-kun protested.

"No, it's a friendly donation from one person to another for their mutual benefit," Izuru said smugly.

"I still can't believe I didn't convince Zaraki-taicho to do it twenty years ago," Abarai-kun grumbled.

"You actually tried to convince Zaraki-taicho?" Izuru gaped.

"Yeah, I told him he'd get a hell of a fight out of it," Abarai-kun said.

"That's true," Omeada commented.

"He said it wasn't worth it- Yachiru doesn't like him touching other women, and she would have attacked Soifon-taicho in the midst of battle," Abarai-kun muttered sourly.

Izuru sweatdropped- it was a terrifying thought. The most bloodthirsty villain of the Gotei Thirteen ran his whole life around the whims of a tiny girl.

* * *

Ise Nanao was trying to comfort a distraught Rangiku, and not laugh. It was not an easy task, but the stern woman, who ruled the lax eighth division, managed it.

"And then he said that I should not be there!" the blonde complained.

"Well it was late at night and he probably wanted to sleep," Nanao tried to console her.

"But I was on top of his bed wearing a leather corset with long boots and I had a whip and handcuffs!!" Rangiku complained.

Nanao almost did laugh at the image of such a… well prepared Rangiku getting kicked out of Kira's room, and then having to walk back to her room dressed like that. Kira had place a barrier around his room after her entrance, which was another insult.

"Hey, did you hear? Kira-fukutaicho groped Soifon-taicho!" the seventh seat of her division burst into the room, belatedly realising that Rangiku was present.

"HE WHAT??" Rangiku yelled -this obviously added insult to injury.

Nanao glared at the seventh seat, who left in a hurry, and then tried to salvage the situation.

"I'm sure it was just an accident," she reassured the other woman.

Rangiku was obviously not going to take that as an acceptable answer, "I'm going to find out for myself," she said, racing out of the room.

Nanao sighed and followed her best friend- somehow she just knew that she was not going to get to the paperwork today.

* * *

Kuchiki Byakuya was sitting calmly in his cell, or at least he was feigning a semblance of calm. Ukitate-sempai had given him a newspaper, while dropping off a still unconscious Hitsugaya-taicho, and Ukitate-sempai had told him about all of Rukia's **gifts**.

Not happy, was an understatement. How dare any of those worthless cowards think they were worthy of **his** imoto?

At least Kurosaki had the guts to court Rukia under his nose, if not openly. But these worms had waited until he was conveniently out of the way, and were now trying to use her? He'd kill the lot of them.

The unconscious Hitsugaya squirmed and then apparently awoke, he shot up eyes wide. He glanced at Byakuya, and then his eyes flicked around the room. Apparently he'd worked out exactly what had happened.

"I'm going to kill Ukitate," he muttered, eyes narrowing, fist clenching.

"Only if you beat me to it," Byakuya informed him, feeling it necessary to point out the pecking order to his younger colleague.

"Loser does the other's paperwork for a month," Hitsugaya challenged.

"Make it six," Byakuya accepted.

Hitsugaya nodded, and then both went silent, plotting death for the thirteenth division's taicho. Both of them were stumped by how they were going to get out of the jail cell though.

They had both been outfitted with reiatsu suppressing cuffs, which fit tightly and could only be removed by a kido spell- which couldn't be performed without using their reiatsu, which had been imprisoned in their bodies by the cuff- it was an evil, never-ending cycle.

They were both startled by a large explosion. It was followed by a second, much closer to them, and then by a third, on their own cell wall.

"Toshiro!" Hinamori-fukutaicho's voice called through the smoke.

"Momo!" he yelled back.

The girl- with absolutely no sense of propriety, or awareness of an audience, flung herself on the boy. "I missed you so much," she almost shrieked, kissing him.

Hitsugaya, without even thinking about Byakuya's presence, kissed her back and then kissed again and again, holding her tightly against him.

"I missed you more," he said, she smiled- it was obviously some sort of logic between them that only people in love or the completely insane could understand. Then- as if their first display wasn't bad enough, the two, rather rudely began kissing again, falling back onto the bed Hitsugaya had occupied…

Apparently they had no problem with remaining there for quite some time…

Byakuya rather belatedly realised that if Hinamori-fukutaicho was in the cell, and that if she had made a hole to break in, then he could use the hole to escape from the cell. He poked his head out, at the same time as Kurosaki Ichigo- two cells down (perhaps Hinamori-fukutaicho's first attempt at finding Hitsugaya?) did.

Needless to say that killing Ukitate was no longer at the top of Byakuya's list. Kurosaki, saw his enemy, and apparently, in an attempt to avoid the fight, ducked back in the cell.

It was a big mistake, because Byakuya jumped right in, and now, Ichigo was trapped in a cell with Rukia's very angry Nii-sama. There were also no guards in sight- he was doomed.

* * *

Rukia was not in a good mood- Yamamoto-soutaicho had turned down her request to release the prisoners. She was walking back to her division, fuming, when she heard the explosion. She arrived on the scene just in time to see her Nii-sama jump into a jail cell- not out of one.

She naturally ran over to see what was happened and saw her brother and her new boyfriend fighting with each other. She did the most impractical and insensible thing possible in this case, she jumped into the cell as well.

"Nii-sama, Ichigo," she gasped at the sight of them.

Ichigo was currently being throttled, but apparently was not so short of air that he couldn't kick her Nii-sama between the legs. Nii-sama winced and let go, so Ichigo punched him and tried to run. Nii-sama tripped him and then leapt on top.

Rukia watched in horror and fascination wondering if she could or should break this up. She had heard that men did their bonding in strange ways- was this perhaps one of those sorts of things?

She hoped it was, otherwise, she was going to have to break it up.

* * *

Ise Nanao knew that this was a bad idea, but nevertheless she did as Rangiku begged. They blasted open the cells in the first division jail until they found the right one. So then the next logical step- to stop the prisoners from escaping, was to erect a barrier.

Unfortunately in order to create such a barrier, over such a large area, it had to cover the whole area of the jail walls- which meant she had basically trapped Rangiku in with Kira Izuru as well as all the other prisoners in their cells.

Without knowing it, she had also trapped the people about to escape from Hinamori Momo's blown in cells. Most of them had other concerns though, and didn't notice.

* * *

Yamamoto-Genryusai Shikegeni walked down to the jail cells, his favourite students in tow. He didn't have any guilty suspects for the explosions which had rocked his division, and made him spill his soup. He was grumpy about losing his lunch, and he took that out on Jyushiro and Shunsui due to the lack of any other current suspects.

They were lagging even further behind him, possibly because his temper had made his reiatsu flare, and the temperature was steadily rising. He walked past most cells and the occupants cowered from him- it was gratifying and soothed his temper.

The first cell where this didn't happen required investigation.

He was shocked to see that one of his more responsible taicho was quite intimately embracing a childhood friend. The pair didn't take any notice of him, or his two students who were gawking at the sight.

The Soutaicho coughed loudly, Hitsugaya looked up, and started- jumped back off Hinamori and fell off the bed. The girl herself went bright red, clutching her clothing to her and looked at the ceiling.

The Soutaicho moved on, giving them a few moments to fix their appearances … and retie their robes. He dragged his students with him.

The next cell where trouble was brewing was two doors down. It was the disturbing sight, Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Byakuya, two of his other more responsible taicho, were wrestling each other under the horrified gaze of Kuchiki Rukia.

To be honest, it didn't look like wrestling; it closely resembled a sex game gone badly wrong. He coughed loudly, but it only got the girl's attention- since the men were otherwise occupied.

He reluctantly unlocked the cell and sent his students in to separate them. It wasn't easy; Byakuya fought dirty (kicking and scratching in a most ungraceful manner) and quite refused to let Ichigo go. But eventually Rukia held Ichigo back, while Shunsui and Jyushiro simply held Byakuya off the ground. It was not the wisest move, since Byakuya was enraged by the sight of Rukia touching Ichigo, but at least Ichigo wasn't a problem now.

Since his two students had everything under control, the Soutaicho continued his quest for disturbers of the peace… and his lunch.

The last cell he had problems with was the one that had contained Kira Izuru.

It now also contained Matsumoto Rangiku- who was chasing the blonde man in continuous circles. Apparently neither of them was trying to change direction and catch the other off guard, or go through the centre, or anything...

If the Soutaicho had ever wondered if they were natural blondes, the question had been well and truly answered.

He coughed and they both froze, turning slowly to face him. It seemed that Matsumoto's disregard for decency did not extend to a heavily ranked superior- he wasn't sure if it was flattering or not, but chose to take it as flattering.

He walked back to his students, haori flapping, "You two- I don't care what you do, but fix this problem you created- and do it now!" he ordered, pointing at Jyushiro and Shunsui. He stalked off, wearing such a dark look that no one dared ask him anything.

Once in the privacy of his office, with the door locked he burst out laughing, closely resembling a maniac. He'd love to see how Jyushiro and Shunsui would deal with this.

* * *

Ukitate Jyushiro paced, while Kyoraku drank. Their 'charges' were all being walked to his office; reiatsu completely sealed so as to avoid more trouble. To be fair Hitsugaya and Hinamori were not really troublesome, nor was Kuchiki Rukia or Kira. Matsumoto, Byakuya and Kurosaki were another story, and he was supposed to punish all seven of them and Ise-san for their roles in causing trouble.

He continued to pace, until the doors slid open, then he sat down, trying to pretend he was calm, collected and knew exactly what he was doing.

The eight guilty men and women were all sitting in front of him. He looked at them sternly, trying not to feel guilty himself.

"Matsumoto Rangiku," he began, "you, Hinamori Momo, Kuchiki Rukia and Ise Nanao broke into the jail cells of the first division. Do any of you have anything to say in your own defence?"

The four women all shook their heads; Nanao refusing to say that she had not entered the cells- she was still an accomplice, and Rukia not mentioning that she had not broken in- merely taken the opportunity presented by Momo-chan's kido. She had known she was breaking the rules, even if it wasn't planned.

"Very well, you are all being sentenced to forty hours each of community service in the fourth division," he said- everyone knew it was a light punishment. He felt it was justified since they had only been trying to get in, and not actually break anyone out.

"Hitsugaya Toshiro, provided you injure no one and break no rules in the next month, you will be let off with a caution," the white haired boy glared at him, but nodded. Hitsugaya hadn't actually committed a crime, so provided he left Hisagi alone, he didn't need to be punished.

"Kuchiki Byakuya and Kurosaki Ichigo," Jyushiro intoned, "the two of you will start at opposite ends of the first division, and repair all the walls which were damaged today. You will do this in any spare time you have, and you will do it personally- not using subordinates to help you. Any fighting will result in Kuchiki Rukia being imprisoned in the eleventh division," he announced with a heavy heart.

The Eleventh division's prison was close to torture- Zaraki would use any of his prisoners as a fighting dummy. Kuchiki Rukia, would be quite easily vaporised by one such incident, no matter how tough she was.

The only way to resolve the argument between Kurosaki and Byakuya- or at least minimize the dispute- was to punish Kuchiki for their crimes. Jyushiro hated the thought of threatening her like that, but both men stiffened, and glaring at each other nodded, she nodded at him too- it made him feel a little better.

Now the tricky one, he sympathised, but couldn't actually help Kira Izuru. "Soifon-taicho will assign a personal punishment to you for the charge she has brought against you. But for now you will be released," he informed the younger man.

He gulped, "I understand Ukitate-taicho," he hadn't expected any better.

"Also, I have been asked to inform you to be discreet considering your positions in Seireitei and the relationships which are forming," Jyushiro continued, feeling quite awkward and slightly embarrassed by pointing out the obvious.

Hitsugaya, Hinamori, Matsumoto and Kurosaki all gave him quite hostile looks. Rukia gave him a hard look- a bit softer than the other four, while Kira looked pathetically grateful and Byakuya gave Kurosaki a very sharp look.

"You're dismissed," Jyushiro said, now knowing exactly how Genryusai-sensei felt.

Seven out of eight left, Ise-san remained, quite obviously waiting for her taicho. Matsumoto began chasing Kira again- at a fast walk, Hinamori and Hitsugaya walked side by side- but not touching. Kurosaki and Kuchiki walked with Byakuya very conspicuously in-between them.

The wind blew back voices and he heard Hitsugaya and Byakuya discussing leaving their 'bet' for another month.

He vaguely wondered what it was about, since he'd never seen either of them as the gambling type. They then mentioned something about torturing someone instead of merely killing him- and creating a record for drawing out the death as long as possible.

He felt sorry for anyone on their bad side, and ignored the shiver that went down his spine as he raised his cup to his lips. In doing so he spilled the sake- a bad omen- but it would only be in a month's time that he would understand the warning.

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Who feels sorry for Kira? I know I do, and there is more torture for him in the near future, the next chapter. I hope that you liked the humour, it just seems to appear in whatever I write... I can't seem to stop.

**Thanks for reading this chapter. ****Please review, I need the feedback, I really hope you liked the chapter and I will definitely update sooner next time.**

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Translation of Japanese Words:

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Chibi-_ little/small

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_ Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Imoto-_ little sister

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Nei-_ hey

_Nii-_ older/big brother

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_ This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Sanzeki-_ Third-seat

_Seireitei-_ The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	8. Chapter 7: The Predicted Doom

**I think that this chapter will see me well on the way to beginning to draw this fic to a close. Sorry it took so long to post.**

**I actually wrote most of this ages ago, but I got stuck on one scene for almost two months!! I hate writer's block- it took me two months to right ****one**** lousy scene!! **

**Sorry for the rant, but the frustration- ARGGGHHHH!!**

**It was very annoying.**

**Anyway, sorry if people think Kira's ****punishment**** was lame, I couldn't come up with anything else. Anyway, it served it's ultimate purpose.**

**I hope you enjoy- sorry again for the delay.**

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Chapter Seven: The Predicted Doom

Hitsugaya Toshiro watched his fukutaicho pace around the room- she was plotting, and he just knew that it would be a disaster. She'd already been cautioned against anything but the most discreet behaviour when it concerned Kira Izuru.

That wouldn't stop her.

Being told not to do something was the fastest way to get Matsumoto to do something- except paperwork.

Even reverse psychology did not help with getting her to do that, nothing did, except his icy prison. He'd probably have to use it again next month, they were slowly developing a backlog-possibly his fault for spending so much time with Momo. But he'd been owed several weeks of holidays for a while- Matsumoto wasn't owed any (she used them up the minute she acquired them, just like her money).

"Matsumoto, just leave him alone," Toshiro ordered, quite irritated by the constant pacing- did she have steel bands instead of muscles… weren't her legs sore by now?

"But I can't- he insulted me," she complained, waving her arms around.

"It wasn't deliberate," he pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," she sulked, "he even groped Soifon, and has still turned me down at every opportunity- what's wrong with him?" she fumed, looking down at her breasts, touching them self-consciously, and then she began stalking around the office again.

He sighed, and then got up, leaving his desk and walking towards the door, he looked back at her. She was still moving- like a restless, badly fed tiger.

"I think you'll end up regretting this," he warned her.

She ignored him, still pacing, and he sighed walking out of his office.

Her schemes were rarely anything but trouble and rarely resulted in anything but punishment. But she never listened to him or to anyone else anyway… he just hoped that the results of whatever she was planning would not be too disastrous.

Correction; he hoped that the results would not turn Seireitei or his division upside down.

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo was not happy; his new girlfriend had bounded up to him, kissed him and flung herself into his arms.

That was not the troublesome bit- the problem was the conversation she'd had with Hinamori right after greeting him, when his head was still spinning from the kiss.

Rukia had declared that she and Ichigo were going on date at dinner that night to a nice restaurant. It was all news to him, but he'd go along with it- the prospect of spending any time alone with her, without Byakuya, was a good one.

Then Hinamori and she had begun discussing the best places to eat- and somehow… Hinamori and Toshiro had ended up being invited to Rukia and Ichigo's dinner date.

So much for any romantic time alone as a couple, Ichigo's mood had abruptly soured.

The irritating thing was, he still was not sure exactly how it had happened. He was partly suspicious that the girls had some sort of secret code and had already arranged to double date, and that their later conversation was just a show for his benefit.

Toshiro walked into the office and froze- apparently he could sense the dangerous situation at hand.

Hinamori played the same trick on Toshiro that Rukia had played on Ichigo. She leapt into his arms, kissed him and kept her arms around his neck.

Unlike Ichigo though, Toshiro stiffened and looked at her suspiciously, "What's going on?" he asked, glaring at Ichigo- like they weren't on the same side. It seemed that the boy already knew of the devious tricks women played on the men they apparently loved.

"Kurosaki-taicho and Kuchiki-san wanted to go out with us tonight for dinner," Hinamori said with a pout.

Ichigo had not said anything about wanting to do this- he'd simply agreed with Rukia because he'd had no other choice. He kind of resented being used like that to pressure Toshiro, but he was not going to argue.

He had been in a relationship with Rukia for barely forty eight hours- and he didn't want to end it so soon. Actually he was pretty sure that he didn't want to end it period. So he kept his mouth shut for once.

Hinamori had her eyes firmly on Toshiro's face- and Ichigo already knew how this was going to end. No man could face that look, not without completely giving in.

"That would be fine Momo," Toshiro agreed reluctantly, and now both boys were suddenly resigned to this abominable fate.

At least they would suffer it together.

"So Kurosaki- how's the brickwork going?" asked Toshiro smugly.

Ichigo scowled, any thoughts of a male alliance to work against their girlfriends' wickedness flew out of his head.

He stalked off over towards the first division, leaving Rukia and Hinamori behind him with Toshiro and large smirks on their faces.

At least the two girls waited until he was out of sight before they began laughing. It didn't do much to soothe his feelings though- Rukia was supposed to be on his side!

Toshiro used one arm to pull Momo against him, enjoying the warmth of her body- it was not the same as hot weather, this was pure bliss. She leant back against him, smiling, her head resting against his.

Kuchiki was not an idiot (unlike her boyfriend), "well I ought to be going," she said with a smile, "see you two tonight!" she called back as she walked away.

"You know Momo- that isn't exactly 'spending the day' together- not when it involves them," he pointed out, when Kuchiki was well out of earshot.

He knew he wouldn't get out of this double date, but it had been worth a try, and he'd use anything he could think of to get out of this.

"It's only one evening," she pointed out, and then added the sentence that turned his knees to water, "besides I thought we'd take the afternoon off," and she looked over at him, to see his response.

"Very well then," he agreed, to both the double date and her suggestion, still not letting her go.

They walked out of the fifth division, back to the tenth. For once, Toshiro was relieved that Matsumoto was nowhere in sight.

"Now, what did exactly you want to do this afternoon?" he asked her, seating them on the couch, with his arms still around her, holding her close.

"I'm sure you can think of something," she whispered, leaning back and twisting her neck to kiss his throat.

"Maybe we should get an early start," he said, pulling her closer.

"You read my mind," her neck twisted a little more, and suddenly her lips met his.

Neither of them even remembered that there was such a thing as a paperwork build-up, or that it had been steadily rising in the last two days.

They also didn't remember why it could be such a bad thing that Matsumoto Rangiku had vacated the office.

It was eleven o'clock and they were young people in love- there are bound to be many things forgotten in such situations.

* * *

Kira Izuru was a nervous wreck- Matsumoto-san was a dangerous force to be reckoned with. He hadn't slept all night for fear of her testing the kido barrier he'd placed around his room.

She hadn't, but that had only made him more nervous- it meant that she was up to something. If only he knew what.

He contemplated asking Abarai-kun or Hisagi-san for help, but decided against it. Soifon-taicho had still not decided upon his punishment- and he didn't need more trouble. Instead he decided to wait and see, perhaps Kami-sama did exist and would take mercy on him.

Perhaps he was making a bigger deal out of the situation than was strictly true.

Perhaps Matsumoto-san was not going to retaliate or try anything else; he could be worrying for nothing.

All the same, he kept his senses on high alert and eyed both the window and the door nervously. He'd much rather be cautious than caught.

He was also waiting for Soifon's verdict on his punishment. Could this day honestly get any worse?

"Kira-fukutaicho?" the sixth-seat enquired entering the room with a large stack of paperwork. The poor boy was not visible from behind the stack.

"Hai," Izuru answered tiredly, really hoping that this was not what he thought it was.

"These are the reports on the performance of the individual squads within the third division that were requested by each of the seated officers. The summary of these reports is due tomorrow,"

He was going to have to read all of them and then write a summary of them? Kami-sama did exist and obviously hated him, things were definitely going to get a lot worse.

* * *

Soifon was deep in thought- she had to make a non-fatal example of Kira Izuru. She also had to limit her damage to lightly psychological torture and practically non-existent physicial torture.

Ukitate had **thoughtfully** provided her with some guidelines.

She wasn't happy about that- where was the fun in non-fatal, restricted torture? How could she possibly make him suffer with that?

She was going to have to be very clever, or very cruel- hence her meditative state.

"Nei- SOIFON!" yelled a high-pitched female voice, and the second division's taicho stared in disbelief at Matsumoto Rangiku, seconds before the other woman pounced.

Somehow Rangiku had gotten Soifon's head nestled between her enormous breasts, "You know, I might be able to help you with something," she crooned, rocking Soifon with each word for emphasis.

"Rangiku, let go- I'm not in the mood," Soifon hissed.

That was an understatement, she'd been plotting for three hours and she still had no idea of a punishment. Her stature as someone not to be groped would go down if she could not think of a good one.

"But it's about Kira," the blonde complained.

Soifon stiffened and with lightning speed leapt out of Rangiku's hold. She sat herself back down, regarding the other woman.

"Please go on," she said with a cold smile. It screamed of death, but there was nothing in the world capable of stopping Rangiku's mouth once she was on a roll. Especially not when it involved revenge.

* * *

Byakuya had never in his life, ever been forced to do manual labour. It was downright humiliating, he was a member of a noble family- the head of a noble family, and he was working like a commoner. It was even worse that he quite obviously had absolutely no talent for this sort of work; his hands were covered in blisters.

His only consolation was that Kurosaki was in the exact same situation, made worse by his temper. Neither of them appeared to have any talent for building, only for destruction.

They were simply making the holes in the walls worse- attempting to fix them and making them bigger in the process. Then Kurosaki apparently had the 'better' idea of fixing walls by destroying the structure completely, since it would be so much easier to 'rebuild an entire wall, rather than just patch it up'.

Luckily Ukitate had stopped Kurosaki before the entire jail was blown to pieces- or Kurosaki himself.

But it was going to be a very long time before the jail would be fit for use again. The Soutaicho was not happy at all.

Then Kurosaki began whining about all the overtime, "but I've got plans for tonight!" he protested

Byakuya immediately paid attention to the conversation.

"I've got a date tonight with Rukia,"

That was all Byakuya needed to hear- the walls were promptly forgotten- he and Kurosaki Ichigo needed to have a talk, urgently. He walked past his subordinates; most of whom called out when they saw the direction he was heading in. Kurosaki's subordinates protested too, but it was not going to stop him.

He grabbed Kurosaki by the shoulder and dragged him off, using shunpo and his slightly taller build to force the younger man his way.

"Kurosaki- what are your intentions concerning Rukia?" Byakuya began sternly.

"None of your business!" Kurosaki shot back.

"I am her **older** brother, and **entitled** to know everything about her. I could ask Rukia, but I have chosen to come to you directly. Now answer the question- what are you **intentions** concerning **my** **imoto**?" Byakuya said, feeling his eyes grow black with anger at being forced to crawl to the younger man.

"What do you mean intentions?" Kurosaki asked, looking apprehensive.

"If you break her heart, or get her into any sort of **trouble**, I will kill you- rules or no rules," Byakuya warned, deciding to be as frank as possible.

"I won't get her into any **trouble**!" Kurosaki declared, going dangerously red.

Byakuya glared at him suspiciously for five minutes, by which time their subordinates and Ukitate arrived on the scene. No doubt expecting the worst.

"I'll hold you to that promise," said Byakuya, content for the minute to trust Rukia's judgement and her control over Kurosaki. He felt quite smug over the look of shock on Kurosaki and Ukitate's faces, and walked off- liking the drama of the whole scene. His white haori even dramatically flared as he walked, which made him even more smug. He was in a better mood than he'd been in for weeks.

It was only when he reached the section of the wall he'd been working on for three hours- and that still was not significantly improved, that he wished he'd made the scene last longer. How he hated working with his hands, his good mood abruptly vanished.

* * *

Izuru had a bad feeling when Soifon-taicho Matsumoto-san entered his office together. He had a very good sense for dangerous situations- it was the only reason he'd survived as Ichimaru Gin's fukutaicho for so many years.

Soifon glared at him coldly, "I have given due consideration for what punishment you shall endure for assaulting me in such a manner," she began.

Izuru really felt that she was taking this far too personally- there had been a lot of random chance thrown into the groping. He'd aimed for a shoulder, not her…

Then it wasn't like he'd kept his hand there for an hour, he'd snatched it back. So why was she so pissed? And besides, Abarai-kun was also responsible for this mess.

"Rangiku-san will inform you of your punishment," said Soifon walking out abruptly. She was holding what looked like some photos in her hand, and as she looked at them as she closed the door behind her, her eyes sparkled. She reminded Izuru of a woman on a diet eyeing a triple fudge chocolate cake.

Matsumoto-san was grinning in a rather cat-like manner- like a marmalade cat after it had eaten a canary. Or that 'Cheshire cat' from that American cartoon 'Alice in Wonderland'. It was giving him more creeps than Ichimaru Gin's permanent grin- ice-cold shivers were permanently running up his spine.

"I've bought Soifon off, luckily for you- and so now Kira Izuru," she said in a sing-song voice, "you owe me a **big **favour," she said with slow emphasis. She had been walking closer the whole time and now Izuru found himself trapped between her and a wall- this was not good.

"Your punishment officially is to be the eleventh division's play-toy, but you see, I know the eleventh division **very** well… so I was thinking, if you don't want to be their punching bag, I could always talk them into saying you had been. Might even give you more respect amongst your division, but I'd need a favour in return," she commented, slowly licking her lips.

She might actually have won him over- like any sane man, he would go out of his way to avoid the eleventh division. Especially since being their play-toy amounted to fighting against them until one of them defeated him, with no possibility of team four's intervention, or anyone else's.

However she had made one fatal mistake… she'd made a comment about the third division's respect for him. It was not as bad as the other division's believed, admittedly he was not admired like Madarame-san or Matsumoto-san, but they did believe in him. Especially since he had kept the whole division together after Ichimaru's, and then after Amagai's betrayal. He was a different person to all of his colleagues, and he managed his division in a different manner.

Admittedly he doubted himself sometimes. But the other taicho, especially Ukitate-taicho and Yamamoto-soutaicho had helped him realise that he was doing everything he could, and that he **was** doing a good job.

She had no right to say anything like that, especially because he had confided so many of his doubts in her. It was rubbing salt in a vulnerable wound- one he'd trusted her with.

"I'd rather fight the whole eleventh division than owe you anything," he said calmly with such a cool gaze that she stepped back from him her mouth falling open.

He walked out the door, grabbing Wabisuke on the way.

He was half-way to the eleventh division when he heard her yelling, "KIRA- YOU'LL REGRET THIS!"

How dare she say that! How dare she put him in this situation! How dare she try and manipulate him!

Did she truly think that he didn't have enough pride in his abilities that he'd use her as a way out? That would justify all the rumours about him being inadequate for his position, and he'd be dead before he allowed that.

He'd fight the whole eleventh division if he had to prove to Matsumoto-san and everyone else that he was no weakling!!

* * *

Matsumoto Rangiku was waiting- surely Kira couldn't last that much longer, surely…

Ikkaku and Yumichika were already distinctly pissed off- they'd been the first in the ring, and the first thrown out. Kira Izuru was full of surprises; beating both of the maniacs into a pulp (and marring Yumichika's 'perfect face') had surprised everyone.

Half the divisions were now watching, most of the fukutaichos, all of the third division, all of the eleventh (except Zaraki-taicho and Yachiru) and many others from the tenth, second, ninth and sixth. None of the taicho's had been invited, and none of the first division, fourth division or the thirteenth.

Currently several unseated members of the eleventh were triple-teaming Kira, but getting nowhere. He was on a roll- not showing any mercy and not giving anyone a chance to power up, overpowering them before they really got started.

He had not reached such heights without marks, but they were minor, several across his bare back- he'd lost the gi in his match against the eighth, ninth and eleventh seat. He also had quite a bad cut on his chest, on his right arm and on his cheek. He quite recklessly had not called for medical attention or a break.

Rangiku had only been jesting about this venture gaining him respect, but it was actually working. She'd heard several members of the eleventh division saying Kira was tougher than he looked- his non-stop battling and beating Ikkaku (one of their strongest fighters) had impressed them.

"Kira-fukutaicho, he is actually very handsome," one of the girls from sixth giggled to her friend.

"You only just realised that?" he friend asked.

"Well I knew he was good looking, but I didn't know he was so buff," the first girl said, fanning herself as if in the middle of a heat wave.

"It's the unflattering robes, and the fact that Kira-fukutaicho is a modest man, not a show off like Hisagi-fukutaicho," the friend explained, giggling herself.

Shuhei fell back off his seat in shock, the other fukutaicho laughing at his misfortune.

"Or as boastful as Abarai-fukutaicho," a third girl chimed in.

Renji, who'd been laughing the hardest at Shuhei's misfortune, now fell off his seat.

Rangiku felt like she'd just put a new pair of eyes into her head. They were right, Kira was very attractive, from the shock of blonde hair constantly falling into his eyes, to the perfectly defined muscles and his soft smile.

The worst part was, she wanted to rip out the hair of the three girls, and then use Haineko to obliterate them. How dare they say such things about **her**…

She shook herself out of the emotion, for a brief second she'd actually been in a jealous rage over Kira Izuru. But they were just friends; she wasn't interested in him at all.

It was when another member of the eleventh division joined in the fight- turning a three on one into a four on one that trouble sparked.

"**CHEAT**!" yelled out a member of the third division jumping in.

More of the eleventh division jumped in, followed by more of the third, then some of the second and the tenth. They were followed by more and more officers.

In other words, it became an all-out war between the divisions, which could trace Matsumoto Rangiku to its origins.

* * *

The double date did not begin well.

Kurosaki Ichigo slamming his fists on the doors of the tenth division and yelling at the couple inside to "GET YOUR CLOTHES ON AND GET OUT HERE!" was not a particularly good starting point.

Over an hour later Ichigo and Toshiro were still glaring at each other across the table, while the girls made polite, but still very awkward, small talk.

It probably didn't help that the waiter was making eyes at both girls. Ichigo broke a very delicate china bowl, simply by picking it up because of his uncontrolled reiatsu, and Toshiro froze his soup in rage.

Needless to say both girls were flushed with embarrassment.

It was even worse when Ichigo began slurping his soup- at least Toshiro was silent, even if all the water at the table had frozen- even the water in the flower vase.

The main course was not quite as bad, both boys grudgingly relaxed, finally enjoying the scenery and the food, which was excellent. The water melted and the china was in no apparent danger of being cracked by unsteady reiatsu. Ichigo, despite hours of training still had no real measure of control over his reiatsu.

Momo fed Toshiro with her own chopsticks and he reciprocated, it was a casual display, but quite sweet. Rukia attempted to do the same, but Ichigo- bright red with embarrassment- refused. She promptly whacked him on the head, and moved her seat further away from his- it was their first fight.

Toshiro had known this would happen, and he pulled Kurosaki up off the floor, "excuse us for a minute," he said and quite firmly towed the bigger boy away.

"She hit me," the orange haired boy was saying, "over something as stupid-"

"Kurosaki, do us both a favour and shut up," Toshiro snapped.

They were both surprised when the taller boy obeyed for once.

"Now, there are some things you're going to have to do, that you probably won't like, because they seem silly. That's all part of being in a relationship, compromise- and nothing is ever going to be perfect. In comparison to some of the problems you will probably have, food seems like a small concern. Just let her feed you, it'll make her happy," Toshiro lectured, feeling like an older brother. A strange feeling, considering he was the shorter one, but he probably owed Kurosaki a lecture after the one Kurosaki had given him during the Kusaka incident.

"But it's so degrading; it's so bad for my image! I can't believe you let Hinamori do it!" Kurosaki complained.

"I love her," said Toshiro, walking away from the other boy.

It was as simple as that, and if Kurosaki couldn't work it out, then he didn't deserve to be with Kuchiki.

Ichigo was left staring at the other boy, **I love her.** He had a point, such feelings outweighed every possible embarrassment, and when it came down to it; he loved her more than he was embarrassed by the mushy gestures she wanted them to do. If it made her happy, then it was worth it.

He grabbed a nearby waiter and ordered the man to do him a favour. The man nervously left at a run, before returning with one of the largest bunches of flowers Ichigo had ever seen. Ichigo reluctantly reached for his wallet, and pulled out several notes.

The waiter took the money and handed him the flowers- and despite the fact that Ichigo was convinced that the price was a complete rip off, he had to concede that they actually looked quite nice. He just hoped the flowers would off-balance his idiocy.

He was surprised by the reaction; Toshiro gave him a faint inclination of the head- an approving nod. Hinamori clasped her hands in delight and Rukia actually gave him a radiant smile. Perhaps doing these things really was a good idea.

The rest of dinner almost proceeded quite normally, until one of Toshiro's subordinate's came running in.

"HITSUGAYA- TAICHO, the eleventh division has got into a fight with the third division, and now Matsumoto-fukutaicho and half of the rest of our division has gotten into it too!"

Toshiro's response could have been heard over a mile away, "MATSUMOTO- THIS TIME I'LL KILL YOU MYSELF!"

* * *

Unfortunately Yamamoto-soutaicho arrived upon the scene at the same time as Momo, Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Toshiro. His flair in reiatsu was enough to make the entire fight break up.

"I want this mess cleaned up, and then I want all fukutaicho and taicho to report to me in the first division in an hour after that is organised," Yamamoto-soutaicho ordered.

Toshiro approached his fukutaicho, almost shaking with rage, "I want answers," he told her in a no-nonsense tone.

"I tried to win over Kira. I even bribed Soifon with pictures of Yoruichi, and proposed the punishment to be Kira as the eleventh division's punching bag. He accepted the punishment rather than… pretend to in exchange for a favour," she said, sounding rather surprised.

Toshiro wasn't though, "and how did this brawl begin?" he asked.

"The eleventh were getting beaten to a pulp- and so they got excited and jumped into the ring, and then the third did and then everyone else did and well… it happened," she said.

Toshiro sighed, "You deliberately put the eleventh division into the position of watching a series of fights, when you know how reckless they are and how much they enjoy fighting? It's like waving a red flag in-front of a bull! How could you be so stupid?"

"I'm sorry taicho, I just… I didn't think that Kira would choose the fight over…" she began, trailing off sadly.

Toshiro sighed, "Maybe if you make a public apology, and plead extreme drunkenness, you might get a light punishment,"

"I really didn't mean to cause more problems for you," she said, giving him the big tearful eyes which had devastating effects on everyone, even him and Nanao.

They knew these were only crocodile tears, but looking at her, it was hard to believe.

"It's alright, I'll work something out," he grumbled.

"I knew I could count on my chibi-taicho-chan!" she exclaimed, all traces of tears gone behind her big smile.

'_I knew it- I've really got to stop falling for that,'_

* * *

Rangiku was feeling guilty; everyone was standing stiffly in the meeting, like students going to meet the principle. Most of her friends were bruised, and everyone looked guilty under the Soitaicho's stern glare, even those who hadn't been involved and were completely innocent. She felt worse right now, than when her taicho had been grilling her- and she hadn't thought that was possible.

"I want answers now- who is responsible for this mess?" Yamamoto-Soutaicho said in the deliberately angry voice, that could never be called a shout or a normal speaking voice.

It was a dangerous situation, especially since he'd started the meeting this way. Normally there was at least one cordial pleasantry, but it seemed like he'd come to the end of his tether. Not surprising after the past week.

Rangiku took a deep breath, she'd probably get suspended from duty, but she wasn't about to wail. She'd brought this upon herself, she couldn't let her taicho or any of the others take responsibility for her mess. She knew her taicho would volunteer himself in because he always felt that as her superior he was responsible for her behaviour.

"I am, Soutaicho," claimed a light baritone voice.

'_Kira? But why?'_

She looked over at him, he was firmly staring the Soutaicho in the face, with no hesitation, and no sign of the lie on his own face. He almost looked defiant. Everyone else, most of whom knew the truth, were staring at him in astonishment and horror. Except Soifon-san who was looking satisfied (apparently she felt that this new punishment was a continuation of the one he'd earned for groping her) and Unohana-taicho, who for some reason looked a strange combination of sad and amused.

"Truly?" obviously the Soutaicho was fairly certain about who was really responsible.

"This situation is completely and utterly my responsibility," Kira answered firmly.

Rangiku opened her mouth to refute that claim, but Kira's eyes met her's.

She couldn't breathe, there was something so sad and forgiving, and so fierce, but at the same time so gentle, something that made her heart pound and her head spin. Her mouth was dry and she couldn't even think about what to say.

'_Kira…'_

She barely understood what the Soutaicho said in the following interval. Instead she was focused on the man who was protecting her so earnestly- no one had ever done anything like this for her, not without making it clear that she was meant to give something in return. Except her taicho, but that was also different- he was responsible for her as a superior officer.

This was different…

* * *

Toshiro walked after his fukutaicho as she followed Kira out of the meeting. Kira had been punished enough for Matsumoto's crimes as it was; Toshiro wasn't going to let the innocent man be punished again if she did something stupid.

Matsumoto caught the blonde's arm, preventing him from escaping her, as he was obviously trying to do.

"Kira- I don't know what to say," she was obviously completely blown away with gratitude. Her eyes were soft (Toshiro would even have called them '**loving**'**)** as she looked upon the other man.

"Please don't say anything," Kira said seriously, "I'm not someone you need to use Matsumoto-san- I never have been. I thought that being your friend was enough, and that as long as I was honest with you, even if you felt differently about me, and didn't care for me as much as I cared for you- that at least you'd still have some respect for me. I was quite mistaken and I want no more association with you," he said coolly and stiffly.

Kira walked away, Toshiro watched him go, and watched the way Matsumoto restrained herself from running after the blonde man.

"I told you that you'd end up regretting this," he said, feeling sorry for her, but far sorrier for Kira. She'd punished herself far more effectively than Toshiro ever could.

"I didn't realise," she whispered in a broken voice.

She wasn't truly a self-absorbed woman. Just a little careless because she was so enthusiastic about doing things she wanted, and lazy about doing things she was uninterested in. She didn't look for subtle feelings in others, because she always made her own feelings known. It was why her feelings were hurt so often.

She looked like a lost child, and for once he gave in to the impulse, "you can have tomorrow off," he whispered.

She didn't say a word, didn't even cheer, she just slowly walked off, towards her own rooms.

"Matsumoto," he sighed.

He wanted everyone to have the same happiness as himself and Momo- he just wasn't sure it was possible. He knew he was lucky, and hoped to be this lucky for centuries. Matsumoto had already lost one person she cared for, and now it seemed like she'd completely destroyed any chance she and Kira might have had.

It seemed like some people, despite their exteriors, were destined to be alone.

'_I hope you can fix this Matsumoto. You deserve to be happy,'_

**

* * *

**

Well, I hope that my return after such a long break has made people happy.

**Oh and if you find any mistakes- you know the drill, please let me know. I want this to be as good as possible… oh and any ideas for future chapters would be greatly appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed- Please R & R!!**

**

* * *

**

Translation of Japanese Words:

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_ Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Imoto-_ little sister

_Kami- _God

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Nii-_ older/big brother

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_ This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_ The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Sensei-_ Teacher/Professor

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	9. Chapter 8: The Dangers of Comfort Food

**I'm back again after another long break. Sorry people, but for some reason it's so much harder to begin finishing a story than it is to start it. I'm sure I am not the only one to discover this…**

**Anyway, Kira and Matsumoto finally straighten everything out, and Inoue Orihime comes to visit Seireitei. (Incidently the Gotei Thirteen will never recover from this incident of food poisoning, poor Unohana)**

**Anyway, we're nearly there, just a little bit more and I'll be finished!!!**

**I hope you like it.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: The Dangers of Comfort Food**

Kurosaki Ichigo was in a very bad mood. The rebuilding of the first division's jail was finally making progress. Or rather, it was finally making the right sort of progress; as in the jail actually was being repaired.

It had only occurred because Ise Nanao had talked to Ukitate-san and Yamamoto-ji-san. She quite sensibly pointed out that nothing good was going to come of Byakuya and Ichigo's efforts. She had further persuaded the two men that Ichigo and Byakuya had in fact learned a lesson from this.

Kyoraku-san had then pointed out that both men could simply pay for the jail to be fixed and that another punishment could be assigned to them. The repair of the first division's jail buildings was a high priority- not something that could wait for three months or three hundred years (considering the progress that was not being made).

So instead of building, they were now on cleaning duty for forth division. Ichigo was of two minds in that matter- on the one side it was good not to be building, but alternatively the tasks the fourth division expected them to do were domestic and, rather disgusting.

As Kyoraku-san had 'kindly' added- these chores were more humiliating and a worse punishment than the current one. In fact Ukitate-san and Yamamoto-ji-san were looking distinctly amused by the idea.

The icing on the cake had been when Unohana-san had entered the room, already prepared with a long list of chores… a list that reached the floor. She had a faint smile on her calm face as she read out a few of the many chores they were expected to complete.

Irritatingly Renji and Hinamori were both giggling so hard at the turn of events that they practically collapsed onto the floor. They recovered, but kept large grins on their faces for the rest of the morning, despite both of their taicho glaring ferociously at them.

Byakuya and Ichigo were not happy, but all their protesting was in vain. Not only did they have to pay for the repairs to the jail, but they were also Unohana's slaves. This was so degrading…

Cleaning bathrooms, floors, kitchens and worst of all- all the sewer systems in Seireitei.

As far as Byakuya and Ichigo were concerned, Unohana was the most evil of people, even worse than Aizen! This made Kotetsu-fukutaicho, Iemura-third seat and even Hanatarou the minions of true evil.

Perhaps Ichigo was still feeling frustrated and generally pissed off from the night before.

He'd not been able to kiss Rukia goodnight- he hadn't even been able to touch her. Byakuya had grabbed Rukia the minute the meeting ended, much to the amusement of most of the others watching. Ichigo had been given the option of chasing his girlfriend and her aniki, or letting them go.

He'd been leaning towards chasing, but Renji had 'helpfully' intervened. He pointed out the obvious- after all the humiliation of the past several days, annoying Byakuya was really not a good idea.

Then when Ichigo had still resisted, Renji had called over Ikkaku and Kenpatchi.

Ichigo had spent the entire night outrunning Kenpatchi. Needless to say he was still pissed at Renji, even if he acknowledged that the other man was probably right.

Unohana had kindly healed him completely. But Ichigo mused sourly that it was only because she didn't want her slaves collapsing on her.

Then Hanataro came into his office with a nervous look on his face.

"Get Out," Ichigo growled, he was not in the mood for this sort of thing now.

"But-" Hanataro spluttered, wringing his hands.

"I've got paperwork! Her **chores** can wait until after-" he yelled, his voice getting louder.

"Kurosaki-taicho, please follow me," interrupted Unohana-taicho in her calm voice, stepping into the room from behind Hanataro.

Byakuya was already with her, looking angry and scared.

But Ichigo was not going to be intimidated by that woman, "No," he said firmly.

Hinamori, who'd been working calmly behind her desk, even with that annoying grin, was now paying attention. Her mouth had dropped open and she even mouthed, "are you crazy?"

Hanataro was shaking and Byakuya's face had gone whiter than his scarf.

Unohana-taicho took one more step towards his desk; the three watchers were all holding their breaths. Ichigo put his hands under the table to hide the face that they were shaking.

"Kurosaki-taicho, please follow me now," her voice had become even quieter, and her eyes had turned a deeper shade of blue. His heart stopped, his muscles trembled and a cold shudder threatened to sever ever nerve in his body.

"Hai," Ichigo squeaked, well aware that even during puberty and childhood his voice had never gone so high.

Something in her voice told him that he was going to die if he pushed her any further.

Something in her eyes told him that she was fifty times more terrifying than the Soutaicho and Kenpatchi combined.

Earlier he wouldn't have thought she was even remotely threatening, despite division eleven's opinions. But he now knew that wouldn't ever make the mistake of crossing her again, no one was that stupid.

He jumped out of his seat, his hands still shaking, and joined her procession. No longer annoyed with her; just praying that he would never be under that deadly midnight blue gaze again.

* * *

Matsumoto Rangiku was moping around the office; it was not an unusual occurrence for her. But usually it was because she was nursing a hangover. Men were not usually a cause for grief, not even Gin had ever made her feel this rotten.

She was willing to accept that it was possibly because she felt guilty as well as sad, but that didn't make her feel any better. It didn't solve the problem.

She slumped back onto the couch; her muscles tense against the soft cushions. It was still fairly early in the morning, not even eleven. She hadn't been to bed yet, but she didn't feel tired. She didn't feel anything except upset.

She couldn't get Kira's face or his words out of her head. She had tried apologising, she'd tried sending him sake, and she'd even tried using Renji and Shuhei. Nothing had worked; he refused to have anything to do with her, and refused to say anything to her.

"Matsumoto, you know I said that you could take the day off," Hitsugaya-taicho said from what sounded like miles away, but in reality was just a meter away.

"Hai taicho, in a minute," she said, not paying an inch of attention to him.

She was instead staring at the ceiling, but not seeing it, one finger toying with her long hair. She hadn't touched any sake that day; it was almost unheard of. Nanao had already been to visit, worried about her, and had told Rangiku to come and visit her when she was ready to talk.

Nanao had suggested that Rangiku give Kira some space, but Rangiku didn't want to do that. She had never liked waiting, and she was not patient, not when it concerned something she wanted.

Kira wasn't giving her a choice though, and she was terrified that he wouldn't cool down like everyone claimed. She was terrified that she had screwed everything up forever.

She curled over on the couch close to tears, cradling her head in her hands, she really was a baka. Mooning over Gin from so far away for so many years, and then dating any loser who flattered her and now, when she found someone who really respected her, she…

She was pathetic; she didn't deserve Kira, or anyone else.

She didn't even notice her taicho saying he was going over to the fifth division. She didn't think to tease him about Momo-chan either.

Her mind was locked on one memory and one man alone.

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro had finally come up with a plan to cheer up his fukutaicho. Unfortunately it involved great sacrifice and he would owe Kurosaki Ichigo a large favour for this. He walked into the fifth division office, giving Momo a quick wave and approached Kurosaki.

The taller boy looked at him in a very unfriendly fashion, "I'm on a lunchbreak from cleaning the eleventh division's bathroom. Make it quick, this paperwork needs to get done today," he snapped.

"Matsumoto needs Inoue Orihime's 'comfort foods'," Toshiro explained, making it as brief and quick as possible.

Kurosaki went white at the thought of those 'comfort foods'; apparently Toshiro and he had that in common at least. After being fed on Inoue's food for a month Toshiro had no desire to ever see any such creations again. But it was the only think he could think of to help Matsumoto, she had eaten nothing since yesterday. Besides she and Inoue got along well, and perhaps Inoue could cheer her up.

"Have you gone mad?" Kurosaki practically shouted.

"She has a hard stomach, and she needs some sort of comfort because of yesterday. I can't have her moping around the office all week, and even though I told her she could have the day off, she hasn't left yet. She hasn't even tried to drink sake to get over this!" he was extremely worried about her. Matsumoto was not acting remotely like herself- he'd known her for decades, and he'd never seen her act like this.

Kurosaki sighed, "Fine, but you have to get some of this work done for me," he said.

"Deal, now get her over here quickly," Toshiro was relieved that Kurosaki was making this so easy.

"I'll get Ukitate-san to send Rukia to get her," the other boy said, and Toshiro guessed that Kurosaki was worried about Matsumoto as well.

"Thank you," he said politely, for once, engaged in a conversation where both of them were genuinely polite to each other. It had to be the first time in history that this had ever happened.

Kurosaki went off reluctantly, and Toshiro watched him, wondering why he was so reluctant to go to the thirteenth. Rukia was there- shouldn't he be running, but then there'd been some rumours of Kurosaki owing Ukitate a lot of favours recently.

Toshiro mused on that, perhaps Ukitate was a lot shrewder than he'd realised. But then again, perhaps the white haired man had been more influenced by Kyoraku than anyone knew.

"Now, is a wave any way to greet your girlfriend?" Momo's arms were suddenly around his waist, her voice teasing.

"I don't suppose I could make it up to you in any way?" he asked, turning around to take her into his arms, holding her lightly.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said, and now he had her permission, he leant forward to kiss her.

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia was wondering if she was crazy.

In a supreme effort to cheer up Matsumoto-fukutaicho she was talking about food with the newly arrived Inoue. Ichigo had said that Hitsugaya-taicho thought it was the only way she would cheer up. He'd also promised that Hinamori-fukutaicho would join them.

So far though, Rukia suspected that Hinamori-fukutaicho and Hitsugaya-taicho were far more interested in each other than in Inoue's cooking. Not that such a thing was hard. She'd rather stupidly peeked into the fifth division office in search of Ichigo and caught them. She tried to control the hot flush rising in her cheeks.

"Pickled ginger, green tea ice cream and chocolate sauce!" Inoue said triumphantly.

Rukia blanched, embarrassment forgotten, "Ishida actually ate that?" she asked, horrified.

"Hai, every night, it's his favourite" the orange haired girl said cheerfully.

Rukia was fighting hard not to be sick at the thought of the mixture. It was definitely love if Ishida ate that every night so as not to hurt Inoue's feelings. She was also quite surprised that he was still among the living.

'_I wonder if Ichigo loves me that much…'_

"Good afternoon Orihime-chan!" Hinamori-fukutaicho said cheerfully as she poked her head into the room. Rukia blinked; apparently Hinamori-fukutaicho and Hitsugaya-taicho were more responsible than she had thought, or they were seriously worried about Matsumoto-fukutaicho.

"Here Hinamori-san, I made this for you and Toshiro-kun," the orange haired girl passed a large covered plastic bowl to the bun-haired girl before Rukia could warn her.

Hinamori-fukutaicho took at the bowl without any suspicion, "thank you very much," she said. "I'll go find Toshiro and share it right now," and she ran off, before Rukia could try and explain. But Toshiro, who'd lived with Inoue would probably explain the danger of the girl's cooking to Hinamori-fukutaicho, before they got food poisoning.

"I can't believe that Momo-chan and Toshiro-kun are dating, it's so cute!" Inoue squealed.

"Believe me, there is nothing cute about the way they are with each other," Rukia commented, thinking about how she and Ichigo had found them the day before.

"I agree," Matsumoto-fukutaicho commented wryly. These were the first words she had spoken in over an hour, it gave Rukia hope that Matsumoto-fukutaicho was beginning to cheer up.

"What do you mean?" Inoue blinked innocently.

Rukia decided not to tell the other girl, "tell me how to make that fish dish that Hitsugaya-taicho wouldn't stop talking about," she said. Deciding that Ichigo needed to be tested- she had to know if it was real love or something else.

As Inoue got distracted and talked about her cooking, Rukia saw Matsumoto-fukutaicho slowly pick up. She got more interested in the discussion and she ate what had been brought for her (sardines with chives, peanut butter and skittles).

She even hatched a plan with Inoue on how to get Kira's attention. Both blonde women agreed that the best way to woo a man was to feed him something delicious. Rukia pitied Kira, but by the end of the conversation Matsumoto-fukutaicho was almost back to her old self.

'_You're a genius Hitsugaya-taicho,'_

She had no way of knowing that on the other side of Seireitei, in his room, Hinamori-fukutaicho was saying the exact same thing to him, but for a completely different reason.

* * *

"I still have no idea where you got all your experience from, you know," Momo mused.

"What experience?" Toshiro asked, his fingertips running over her bare back, making her shudder at the ticklish sensation.

She made it sound like they'd had sex- which was far from the case. Once again he'd been kissing her, stupidly tickled her and once she'd started laughing the mood was impossible to regain. But he didn't mind that much, just being next to her like this was more than enough.

"You're almost as good at undoing bras as I am," she said slyly, stretching out across him, before settling herself comfortably once more.

He went faintly red, "well, that was… Matsumoto," he said, his hand no longer moving.

"You and Rangiku-san?" She gaped in shock, sitting up.

"NO! I just mean I undressed her one night-" he let out a strangled gasp and paused before continuing, "that came out wrong!" he protested, sitting up as well.

"Then what did happen?" Momo asked, torn between a desire to chop Rangiku-san to little pieces and a strange desire to chop him into little pieces.

"She was drunk, and in no condition to move, let alone undress herself. So I dumped her back in her rooms and I was going to leave her there. But she told me that she-" Toshiro went red, and pulled Momo close to whisper something in her ear.

"Rangiku-san told you that her under wire would cut off her circulation and permanently damage her breasts?" Momo felt like she was going to choke on her laughter.

He went redder and nodded, too embarrassed to speak.

"I can't believe that she actually conned you like that," Momo said falling into full blown laughter.

"I got the 'facts' from Unohana the next day, and that is the only time Matsumoto has ever outwitted me like that," he said from between gritted teeth.

"Well, no one is perfect," she said between laughs.

"Oh you think that's funny do you?" he asked, a devilish gleam in his eyes.

"Toshiro, wait a minute," she protested, putting her hands in front of her.

"Not a chance," he said, grabbing her and tickling her again, this time without mercy.

Since he thought that her face after his attack was hilarious, she shoved him off the couch and grabbed Orihime-san's chocolate ice cream mix throwing it at him.

She was surprised that chocolate ice cream came with such extras. But the dirty look he gave her at the mix of chocolate, plum sauce and pineapple on his floor was satisfying. Then he picked up some of the mess, freezing it into a ball.

"Stay very still Momo," he purred, his arm stretching back a little.

She rolled off the couch, "don't you dare," she said slowly.

He leapt, and she squealed as she tried to dodge, but it landed in her hair.

"That was the last straw, and now you'll be sorry," she said, grabbing her own ball of ice cream from the floor.

For the first time a briefly fearful look crossed his face.

* * *

"Well Byakuya-san, do you like it?" Inoue asked hopefully from her seat in front of him.

Somehow he'd been conned into going out with most of the taicho and fukutaicho for a celebratory drink, since Inoue had come to visit them. Kira was missing, as were Hitsugaya, Hinamori, Matsumoto and the fourth division officers. Unfortunately Kurosaki was present, and so were Zaraki and Kyoraku.

He still didn't know how he had been persuaded into sitting opposite the overly cheerful blonde. The sixth division taicho was currently trying not to do anything as distasteful as throwing up in front in front of his colleagues. He had a duty, not only as a taicho-class Shinigami, but as a nobleman. He managed to swallow without gagging.

"I think that the banana really brings out the flavour," she added cheerfully.

Banana? With oyster sauce, spaghetti and marshmallows…

He needed a doctor and fast.

They then noticed that close at hand Rukia had brought out a covered dish and placed it in front of Kurosaki.

"Ichigo, eat it," she ordered removing the lid.

Now to Inoue the mixture of fish, Tabasco sauce, chocolate sprinkles and spring onions was perfectly acceptable. But Kurosaki eyed the mixture as if it was more dangerous than an Espada. Everyone else at the table eyed the mixture, wondering how this would end.

"No," he said hesitantly.

"Do you love me or don't you?" Rukia asked, and Byakuya frowned.

"I do but-" he began, looking a little paler.

"Eat it now," she thundered.

He slowly picked up the chopsticks she provided and even more slowly picked up a piece of fish. His whole face constricted as he brought it closer to his mouth, finally the white and brown mess entered his mouth. His eyes bulged and as he chewed and swallowed, tears ran down his face, but he took another mouthful.

The orange haired girl watched the show, her hands clasped, totally engrossed. He wondered if Ishida cried every time he ate her cooking as well

"It's so beautiful when men express their love," Inoue murmured, her eyes sparkling.

Byakuya winced as he watched the scene, and he wasn't the only one. He wondered if Inoue knew exactly what sort of test of love eating her recipes was.

"Byakuya-san is there something wrong?" Inoue asked.

"I was actually feeling sorry for him," he said, feeling completely mystified. Perhaps it was a side effect of food poisoning.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

Byakuya looked at her for a second and sighed, "why don't you go feed Renji some of your… creation?"

As she smiled and went off, he then felt a brief moment's pity for Renji, who shot him a look of terror.

He shook himself out of it, pity for Renji, pity for Kurosaki, he really was becoming pathetic; next thing he probably feel sorry for Yoruichi, the demon cat.

He blinked and retracted the last though. That was never ever going to happen, she was evil in its finest, most refined state. He'd never feel sorry for her. He refused to as a matter of principle.

On the other side of Seireitei a black cat stopped lapping up the milk to give a violent sneeze.

* * *

Kira Izuru was banished from Seireitei for three months, and stripped of his rank and Zanpakto for the same amount of time. He wasn't allowed any contact with any of the Shinigami while they were on duty, and he would receive no more wages until he started back at work again.

It was torture, not just because he was separated from all his friends, and because he didn't have much money saved.

It was torture because he didn't know what to do with himself, and to be honest, it felt strange to be so separated from Wabisuke, for so long and so permanently. Besides, without having anything to do, there were thoughts of her on his mind constantly, and now there was nothing to distract him from them.

He was roused by a knock, and he very stupidly opened the door to find a far too pretty Matsumoto-san waiting for him. He was tempted to close the door in her face. He'd been spending most of the day trying not to think of her.

He'd not even come close to succeeding.

"Kira, please accept this as a token of my love," Matsumoto-san said, bowing fully and offering a wrapped package, before he decided whether to ignore her or not.

He sighed, there was no option- he could't ignore her. He opened the offered package in silence, and was surprised to find a yellow and pink pudding of sorts inside. He cautiously broke off a piece and took a bite…

"Matsumoto-san, this is…" he gasped, his stomach rolling and his mouth puckering.

"The raw egg, vinegar and strawberry syrup really makes the dish- right?" she said looking up, and not seeing him. She looked around surprised, where had he gone?

Izuru had actually long since bolted to the bathroom and was already throwing up the deadly mixture. She was obviously trying to poison him as revenge for his not letting her apologise sooner.

"Kira?" she called from outside the bathroom, knocking, "what's wrong?"

Was she crazy? Raw egg and strawberry syrup, he didn't even want to think about this mixture's effect on him.

"Where is Unohana-taicho?" he groaned, wishing she was here, and not Matsumoto-san. He really wished he was still eligible for the fourth division's medical assistance.

"UNOHANA-TAICHO! IS SHE YOUR NEXT CONQUEST?!!" shrieked Matsumoto-san, and then her presence was gone.

Izuru blinked, taking a few seconds to process what was happening.

Five minutes later he still didn't understand it, but obviously he needed to get to Unohana-taicho. He knew he was breaking more rules and was more likely to get in trouble, but he was worried about Matsumoto-san.

He could never have guessed what kind of a scene awaited him in the fourth division.

* * *

Kotetsu Isane was watching the person she admired the most.

Unohana-taicho was healing one of the Shinigami who'd just returned from a trip to the real world. The poor boy had been completely overwhelmed by a Menos class Hollow. He was close to death, but Unohana-taicho had healed worse before, and Isane knew she would save this boy too.

A wild yell was the only thing that preceded Rangiku-san's body slam into Unohana-taicho. Normally the calm taicho would not have been caught so easily, but she had just risen out of a healing trance with a patient. She was disorientated and that gave Rangiku-san the advantage.

The blonde slapped Isane's superior right across the face, and then grabbed the long plait that hung down Unohana-taicho's body and yanked, hard. Isane was confused, Rangiku-san was not normally like this- in fact she had never seen Rangiku-san looking so angry.

"Hanataro, quickly go get Hitsugaya-taicho," Isane snapped before jumping into battle.

Isane got her hands underneath Rangiku-san's arms and pulled back, trying to pull the other woman off Unohana-taicho. Unohana-taicho slammed the flat of her hand into Rangiku-san's stomach, forcing the blonde to release the plait. Unohana-taicho then stepped back out of reach, looking as amazed as Isane felt at this turn of events.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho, what is going on?" Unohana-taicho asked gently.

"You're a shameless hussy who steals any decent man!" Rangiku-san spat, struggling against Isane.

Unohana-taicho's eyes changed to that dangerous midnight blue, and Isane was suddenly tempted to run and leave Rangiku-san to her fate.

"MATSUMOTO- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!" Hitsugaya-taicho yelled, suddenly appearing on the scene. Isane briefly wondered why he had not worn his haori, and why there was pineapple in his more than usually ruffled hair, but upon reflection, decided she was probably not interested in knowing. She was just relieved that he was present- for once Hanataro had done a good job…

Except that Hanataro wasn't present. Apparently Hitsugaya-taicho had sensed this trouble on his own. Isane sighed wondering how Hanataro had gotten lost this time, and where he was now.

Unohana's blue eyes faded slightly, as she left dealing with Rangiku-san to Hitsugaya-taicho. She took a step back, not willing to cause a senseless fight. Rangiku-san was obviously not in her right mind.

Even her superior's voice was not enough to stop this madness. Rangiku-san was still trying to break out of Isane's hold and jump at Unohana-taicho again. But Isane would not let her, and she was repaid for this favour by Rangiku-san's nails ripping down the side of her face.

Then Hitsugaya-taicho yanked the other woman off her, "Matsumoto have you gone mad?" he yelled, holding her away from Unohana-taicho with little apparent effort. Isane noticed this last thing rather sourly, but she was relieved to note that the last of that deep blue was fading from Unohana-taicho's eyes.

"SHE STOLE KIRA FROM ME!" Rangiku-san shrieked, pointing wildly at Unohana-taicho, but now that Hitsugaya-taicho was here she didn't try to attack the fourth division taicho again.

The whole fourth division halted and blinked, four times, their jaws dropping.

Unohana-taicho and Kira???

"How much have you had to drink?" Hitsugaya-taicho demanded, looking Rangiku-san straight in the eye.

"NOTHING!" Rangiku-san yelled, "WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS ASSUME THAT I AM DRUNK?" she complained at the top of her lungs.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE BEHAVING LIKE AN IDIOT!" Hitsugaya-taicho yelled back.

It was at that point that Kira Izuru made the scene, and like everyone else he stood there gaping at the childish argument.

Rangiku-san noticed him first, and she broke out of Hitsugaya-taicho's hold and ran into the blond man's arms. She was crying.

"I know I am not perfect, but why would you choose Soifon and Unohana over me?" she begged, shaking him.

"I didn't," he began and stopped taking a deep breath, then he tried again, "I didn't choose anyone over you," he said clearly.

Rangiku-san blinked, "but I thought-" she said.

Kira shook his head and put a finger on her mouth, preventing her from continuing, "I owe you a long explanation, but the truth is that-" he then noticed their audience, and continued looking rather embarrassed, "Abarai-kun tricked me into… groping Soifon-taicho because he had a bet going with Omoeda," he said sheepishly.

Rangiku-san blinked, "and Unohana-taicho?" she questioned.

"That food- it was Inoue Orihime's recipe, wasn't it?" he answered her question with one of his own.

"Hai," Rangiku-san nodded, completely oblivious to the problem.

"So, you needed something to counteract the food-poisoning," Isane finished, interrupting Kira's explanation.

"Yeah, and the raw egg," Kira agreed, sounding quite cheerful.

All the Shinigami went a pale blue at the mention of the raw egg, although none matched Hitsugaya-taicho's hue.

"What food-poisoning?" Rangiku-san asked quite seriously.

Everyone just sweatdropped and gave her an awkward smile.

"I'll explain it to you over dinner tonight," Kira said finally.

Rangiku-san squealed and jumped into his arms squeezing him into her chest, and then jumped out just as rapidly, complaining, "I have nothing to wear, and I need to get my hair done!" and she raced off.

"Umm, Unohana-taicho, I know it's against the rules, but," Kira began.

Isane's kind taicho pulled out a packet of medicine, one of many she had taken to carrying while Inoue was staying Seireitei.

As Kira walked out, saying many profuse thank yous, Isane noticed that Hitsugaya-taicho followed him. She knew it was rude, but she inched closer to the door and overheard a conversation that would mean her certain doom were it ever to be repeated.

Hitsugaya-taicho hated coming across as gentle or kind- he wasn't old enough to see that such things were not a sign of immaturity.

"Kira, if you ever make her cry, I will kill you," Hitsugaya-taicho's voice was deeper and harder than normal. He was completely serious, and bloody scary.

Isane heard a silence, and then she assumed it was Kira who gave the loud swallow.

"I understand completely Hitsugaya-taicho," he said slowly.

Isane smiled to herself when she heard that, glad to hear that Rangiku was being well taken care of. Then she turned back to her division, needing to organise a search party for Hanataro.

Unohana-taicho gave her a brief smile, "love is truly a strange thing, is it not?" she said very cheerfully.

Isane secretly thought that scary came closer to the mark.

* * *

**Please R & R- I can't improve without suggestions and/or criticism, and to be honest I'd really like them both.**

**The next Chapter really will be the last of the seven days, and depending on how it evolves, there may or may not be an epilogue.**

**PLEASE GIVE ME SOME ADVICE, don't make me beg…**

**(-Just ignore the fact that technically I already am begging...)**

* * *

**Translation of Japanese Words:**

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Haori-_ Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that all the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Imoto-_ little sister

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Nii-_ older/big brother

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_ This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_ The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Sensei-_ Teacher/Professor

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


	10. Chapter 9: One Perfect Day

**Sorry this took so long, but there were 'issues' with my computer amongst other things, and a bout of Glandular Fever. The best advice if you get it is 'don't push yourself', which is incredibly annoying, but completely right, so please if you ever get it, keep this in mind.**

**Anyway, long story short about the computer- **

**Apparently laptops are really not meant to be kept on the ground. You see there is a danger of walking into them- not stepping on them mind, but giving them a nudge with your foot (it was not even a real kick or anything...)... which can completely screw up the hard drive. **

**Things just aren't made to last these days, or meant to stand up to much hardship (although it really was pretty minor)... **

**Anyway enough talk about my poor laptop...**

**This is the last chapter unless by some miracle I am convinced to do an epilogue (please don't ask me to do one), so I really hope you like it, and thanks to everyone who has given me a review. Every comment really has been greatly appreciated!**

**

* * *

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**Chapter Nine: One Perfect Day**

Yamamoto-Genryusai Shikegeni had officially given up. This week was obviously cursed, and so he decided to bow out gracefully, he declared the day an official holiday for the Shinigami. He'd been a shinigami for long enough to know when to throw in the towel.

Over a third of Seireitei had been destroyed in the past week- normally it was only the eleventh division which was affected by any sort of massive destruction.

Then there was the matter of Inoue Orihime's cooking- over half of the Shinigami who had not been injured within Seireitei already had come down with food poisoning.

-Again normally only the eleventh division or their victims were filling the fourth division. This meant that the normally calm Unohana Retsu was clearly highly annoyed, which just made everything even more dangerous.

To make matters worse the two divisions he could normally count on for paperwork were falling far behind- the tenth and fifth (and again normally the eleventh was the only troublesome division in this category as well).

All in all, the Soutaicho was a firm believer in giving up when the going got this tough.

Even when he'd been betrayed by three different taicho in one day the going had not been this tough. Nor had the paperwork been this immense!

So, this was why he was now at the beach, sipping the English ale- 'Old Speckled Hen', which his fukutaicho had introduced him to, relaxing and working on his tan.

In fact he felt so relaxed he was considering taking a whole week off and letting everyone else fix up the mess. Perhaps he should have felt like taking more responsibility, but he was over two thousand years old, and had spent more than a thousand of those years cleaning up these sorts of messes. These sorts of messes were always started by the same people- which made them even more tiring, the solutions were always the same, punish, rebuild and wait for the next crisis.

All in all, he much preferred a day at the beach with no whining fukutaichos, no lazy taichos, a large, cold drink and lots of sun.

* * *

Hitsugaya Toshiro in contrast, hated the hot weather and was far more content to be in his current position. Namely, lying indoors on the over-stuffed couch, hiding from the heat, with his arm around a sleepy Momo.

"Mmmm... Toshiro you are so much better than an air conditioner," she sighed, her hand slipping inside his robe and spreading one small hand over his chest.

Toshiro personally thought that life could not get any better than this point.

It didn't last long- nothing close to peace or contentment ever did in Seireitei. The door opened after a brief knock and a polite 'excuse me', which would have been good, if the person had waited for his permission. He glared at the older Kotetsu sister for disturbing him.

She flushed, obviously completely embarrassed, but when Momo tried to move and sit up, his arm tightened and he held her beside him. If Kotetsu-san was going to interrupt him then she and others like her would have to pay the price. He got precious little private time as it was.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, Hinamori-fukutaicho, I have a message for you from Unohana-taicho," she said sounding apologetic.

"What is it?" Toshiro was distinctly grumpy.

"She would like you to both come and visit the Fourth Division to pick up some... uh... supplies," Kotetsu stammered, flushing a dark pink.

"I don't need any medical supplies for the division," he growled.

"She doesn't mean Medical Supplies for the division, she- uh, means for you... and Hinamori-fukutaicho- personal supplies," Kotetsu was going steadily pinker- she was almost fuchsia, "such as... contraceptives," she finally blurted her face even pinker than before- though that should not have been possible.

Toshiro was suddenly feeling a little pink cheeked himself, and he was fairly certain that Momo had turned bright pink beside him.

"I see," he mumbled, wondering how to get out of the room and away from this situation.

Kotetsu lost a little of the pink flush, "if you would come by the division later today, it should only take a few minutes," she mumbled, not daring to look them in the eye.

"That would be fine," Momo answered for them, and he began to wonder if he could send her on her own.

Kotetsu fled, and Toshiro suddenly found the thought of doing paperwork very attractive. So much for a perfect day; he probably should have left Seireitei if he really wanted a perfect day.

"I suppose Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-taicho will also get a message like that," Momo said, trying to say something.

For some reason, the thought of this struck Toshiro as an impossibly hilarious situation. (Possibly because he was picturing Kuchiki Byakuya's face if the message was given in his presence, or if he even found out)

No doubt about it Kurosaki was quite dead if Kuchiki ever found out about it.

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo was currently enjoying a nice afternoon tea-ceremony underneath the plum trees in the eighth division. He was sure that it was Ukitake-san's idea of a nice peace-maker between him and Byakuya, they certainly needed it.

Byakuya was glaring daggers at him from the other side of the Renji. Unfortunately Ichigo had not been able to persuade Toshiro to let go of Hinamori, or to come outside, so he had been forced to invite his third-seat in her place, much to everyone else's amusement.

Unohana-san was sitting beside Ukitake-san, chatting easily with him, while his third seats were fighting. Kyoraku-san, who had apparently organised this, was slumped beneath a large book. He'd drunk too much, as usual, and Ise had little sympathy, she'd thwacked him quite solidly when he'd begun to make a scene. Ise was surprisingly violent, given her calm appearance.

Unohana's fukutaicho, Kotetsu, entered the gardens to join the party, and sat next to Sasakibe-fukutaicho, who was next to Rukia.

Byakuya noticed where Ichigo was looking, and glared at him. Ichigo glared back- Rukia was not off limits to him, and Byakuya had no right to give him any limits anyway. Kuchiki family rules and regulations meant little to him, as little as social propriety.

Ukitake-san noticed their glare, and moved himself and Unohana-san into a conversation with the two of them in an attempt at cooling them down. Rukia, in a rather unwise move also joined the conversation.

There was suddenly a gleam in Unohana-san's face that he did not like. "Kuchiki-fukutaicho-san, Kurosaki-taicho-san, I would like both of you to visit me in the fourth division this afternoon," she said in her calm voice- one that should not be argued with.

Byakuya did obviously not care for this at all, and Ichigo could already feel the sharp edges of Senbonzakura coming in to attack him.

"But why would you like us to visit Unohana-taicho?" Rukia asked- as if he was not already damned enough in her nii-san's eyes.

Unohana-san's eyebrows rose slightly, "there are some 'supplies' I believe you will need," she said delicately, her expression conveying her full meaning.

Rukia's face was suddenly the colour of dark plum, his probably wasn't much better, and Byakuya's eyes were suddenly black. Ukitake-san could clearly see the way this was going and just as clearly could see no way to fix it.

Unohana-san smiled gently and then looked at Byakuya, "it is a sensible precaution, do you not agree," her voice changed and her eyes went very blue, "Kuchiki-taicho-san?"

Ukitake-san had gone completely white, and the air was still- all conversation had stopped.

Ichigo had the highest respect for Unohana-san as a terrifying force, but when Byakuya snapped- his temper was lethal. He didn't think her deathly stare was going to be enough this time.

Unohana-san continued talking;

"After all, there are sexually transmitted diseases," Ichigo could feel the first nail hammered in to his coffin.

"And then there is the danger of unplanned pregnancy," Ichigo felt the first handful of dirt get thrown onto his coffin as it was lowered into the ground.

"Then in that event, I suppose to maintain the Kuchiki family's honour, Kurosaki-taicho-san would have to become a member of the Kuchiki family, and marry Rukia-san," Ichigo felt the blood drain from his face.

"Just think about that Kuchiki-taicho-san. You and Kurosaki-taicho-san could be brothers," her voice would have been mocking, if it wasn't so gentle.

Ichigo was feeling suddenly rather ill, and Byakuya didn't look much better- a strange expression combining nausea, terror and raw fury was on his face.

Unohana-san was talking rather cheerfully and casually about very big steps. He'd never thought about the implications of being in a relationship with Rukia as affecting the rivalry (it was not a friendship) between him and Byakuya. He didn't want to be Byakuya's brother-in-law- basic family; it would be incredibly weird and uncomfortable.

"I think Kuchiki-taicho-san that to encourage a young couple to be safe is of benefit not only to themselves, but to those around them," Unohana-san lectured her eyes bluer than ever.

Byakuya stood up and moved away from them, down to Kyoraku-san's end, where all the sake was. He didn't even bother with a dish; he actually drank straight from the bottle. Within minutes underneath everyone's eyes he had collapsed in a drunken heap.

"Give him this when he awakens," Unohana-san said, pulling out a sachet from her sleeve and passing it to Renji. She'd already given one to Ise, and was apparently completely indifferent to the fact that she had basically stuffed the alcohol down Byakuya's throat- manipulation did not excuse her from the crimes.

What kind of a healer was she? He made another mental note- his tenth, not to anger her in any way. Who knew what might happen to him?

Renji pulled Byakuya to his feet and was dragging the taller man away; apparently Byakuya was heavier than he looked.

Ichigo was busy watching Unohana-san, trying to wonder if all women were this cruel, when Rukia whacked him on the head.

"Baka- stop looking at Unohana-taicho and go help Renji with my nii-sama!" she yelled furious violet eyes glaring holes into his head.

Sadly, he was fairly sure he already knew the answer- he, and any other heterosexual males were almost certainly doomed. All women were this cruel- why hadn't he been born gay?

* * *

Kira Izuru was never going to move again, he was terrified of disturbing the reality which was better than anything he'd ever dreamed of. Rangiku was asleep on top of him, and while his limbs all had pins and needles, he refused to squirm- it might wake her up.

Rangiku had fallen asleep naked on top of him, and he was enjoying the view, and reluctant to give her an excuse to run. She was beautiful, intelligent, powerful, brave and strong- how could he ever be right for a woman like her?

He was quite relieved that Rangiku had been given a 'kit' full of interesting and very adult toys by Unohana-taicho- such a sensible, kind woman, despite the assault. As far as Izuru was concerned, it was a completely perfect day, and it could stay that way.

The polite knock at the door was slightly irritating, and they both sleepily ignored it, "Matsumoto-fukutaicho!" the man outside sounded slightly desperate.

"Please- I have an urgent message from Ayasgawa-fifth-seat!" the man pleaded with the closed door.

Rangiku perked up, "ohh- gossip!" she gave Izuru a smile and quite literally leapt out of bed. It was amazing how quickly she could get dressed and presentable; it took him a lot longer. She opened the door smiled briefly at the messenger and then made off for the eleventh division.

The door was still open and Izuru was only wearing a sheet, he gave the man a nervous smile, "Perhaps you could shut the door?" Izuru asked.

His Tou-sama had always warned him about one thing- you could never get in between a woman and gossip- it was painful. Experience with female Shinigami had shown him just how correct that was, even Hinamori and Ise-san loved gossip. He was a little disappointed that Rangiku valued gossip above him.

But he wasn't so disappointed when she reappeared minutes later, "you aren't going to believe this!" she squealed, she was almost dancing with delight.

If he was important enough to share this news with, and important enough for her to make sure he was the first to hear it, that was enough. It meant he was valued. He was happy enough with that, and besides, women weren't the only ones who liked gossip, he quite liked it too.

* * *

Unohana-taicho had a welcoming smile on her face as she ushered her 'guests' into a vacant room. Of course this was in the context of great white sharks and tyrannosaurus-rex, lots of teeth, lots of menace and danger, prevalent in the air.

Toshiro would have felt a lot better if Kurosaki and Kuchiki Rukia were not present at the same time. Even Momo being present was bad enough, but with the other two, somehow he felt like his limbs had been replaced with metal stilts. It was hard to remember how to move, breathe and speaking was out of the question. The icy boy was not feeling very cool, he was fairly sure that his face was just as red as Kurosaki's.

The only thought in his mind was that it would take a miracle for gossip of this level not to reach Matsumoto and Ayasegawa. He had no way of knowing what was already in motion, and more unfortunately, no way of stopping it.

Unohana-taicho pulled out a set of 'things' he had not seen before, even if he knew what they were. Truthfully, Toshiro had never really thought about any of this before- he loved Momo, and he knew about this stuff in a vague way. It just never seemed important because they weren't in a relationship, why worry about those things when he had no practical use for them?

Somehow looking at these things in this clinical manner took out all the eroticism they should have and made him feel embarrassed. Unohana- taicho was very thorough, and stopped frequently to ask if they had questions- no one had questions, they were all torn between being stunned and embarrassed.

The contraceptives were perhaps not 'idiot proof', but it did not take a genius to work them. The toys she showed them also did not require a degree in anything. She also had lotions, creams and several more exotic things that he wouldn't have thought of. She also had the name and card of several shops which specialised in this stuff.

Unohana-taicho even brought up the question of bondage and safe practises to do with this and other 'practises'. He'd never heard of some of the things she talked about, and honestly until this point, he'd thought that his education had been quite thorough.

He felt rather hot at the thought of buying anything like this- was it all part of being an adult- was this what Momo wanted? He was feeling, lost, confused, ignorant and completely overwhelmed by this.

He was relieved when they were released, and was unable to look anyone in the eye anymore- he needed to flee. He took the first chance he got, and used the excuse of work, completely forgetting that it was a holiday today. He bolted with one of the boxes Unohana-taicho had forced on all four of them in his hands.

* * *

Momo tried not to laugh as Kurosaki-taicho copied Toshiro and bolted guiltily from the forth division carrying that rather conspicuous box in his hands. Towards the end she had felt more curious and less embarrassed, and she thought Rukia-san might have felt that way too, but the men had clearly been overloaded.

She and Rukia-san exchanged looks and burst into giggles, because really, it was just too adorable. Their two strong, capable men were in reality shy and ignorant boys, who were just so easily embarrassed.

"Shall we go out for some tea?" Momo offered.

"That would be nice," Rukia-san agreed.

They agreed to meet at their favourite tea-shop in half an hour- both wanted to check on their boy and hide the incriminating boxes in their quarters.

Momo found Toshiro working on a large stack of papers- almost taller than him. She knew that when he wanted to work out something, he worked hard on something else until his mind was ready to put the pieces together. He refused to even meet her gaze, concentrating so fiercely on the papers that if he'd not had good control over his reiatsu, they would have been ice.

Chances were he'd work it out for himself. If not, she was fully prepared to send him to Ukitake-taicho, who she was sure would be able to put things in a more male and comfortable light for Toshiro. Sometimes female thinking bothered men- she didn't understand why; it always made perfect sense to her!

Rukia-san had apparently found Kurosaki-taicho in the middle of sparring Abarai-kun. Both women had agreed that Abarai-kun and Kurosaki-taicho related well to each other. So Abarai-kun would probably be able to help Kurosaki-taicho understand and deal with whatever embarrassed him so.

"I still don't understand why they were so embarrassed," Rukia-san said, pouting, "they are men, aren't they supposed to be really interested in sex and everything to do with it?" she asked.

"Perhaps Unohana-san was too forward," Momo mused, "perhaps they like it, but they don't want to talk about it?"

"I think it was too much information," Rukia-san sniffed.

"You're probably right; their brains are too small to cope with it," Momo agreed.

The two girls burst out laughing again.

"Still, I wish he would talk to me about what was so embarrassing. It doesn't seem like he wants me to help him with this, or anything else," Rukia-san said softly, sounding wistful.

"I think Kurosaki-taicho is quite shy," Momo commented.

"Yes, he is- but it's still annoying," Rukia-san said.

"You're worried about him and your nii-san?" Momo could see the seeds of Rukia-san's irritation easily.

"A little- I love them both, I want them to like each other," Rukia-san's anguish was so obvious.

"It is early days, he and Kuchiki-taicho are still getting used to the idea and each other. I'm sure it will work. Besides, neither of our relationships is older than a few days- perhaps we are over thinking all of this, the boys are still adjusting after all," Momo said, trying to sound responsible and thoughtful, as if she knew what she was talking about.

"Momo-san, thank you," Rukia-san said, "I really needed to be told that," she whispered

* * *

Ichigo had spent all afternoon sparring Renji, and he still wasn't ready to face Rukia. He was suddenly nervous all over again, worse than he had been before their first date. Unohana's words had opened up a whole new world of possibility. What if Rukia felt pressured to do something with him? What if he actually did get her pregnant? How did she feel about everything they'd been shown?

He'd never seen or heard of it before- and she was heaps older, she probably knew everything, he'd look like an idiot. Not something new, but something he wanted to avoid looking like in front of her!

Rukia suddenly appeared, and for a second he considered running. Then he reconsidered- Renji had been no help, the stupid fool had started laughing, until Ichigo had beaten him into a pulp.

"Are you alright now?" she asked him, sounding more curious than concerned.

"I'm still working it out," he said, fighting the urge to lash out.

"What is there to work out?" she asked.

"There are new things to consider," Ichigo said, still feeling angry.

"Like what?" it was the third question in a row, and she didn't seem to tire of asking them, if anything she was becoming more insistent.

He couldn't take it, and cracked under the pressure of her 'interrogation', "uniforms, sauce, contraceptives, toys- I don't know what you like, I never thought about it at all!" he blurted out, going a brighter red than Renji's hair.

She blinked, three times, "you really are an idiot," she muttered, flushing faintly, "we are supposed to do that sort of thinking together, openly, so we both know what we like and how we feel," her words were simple, so was her logic.

Somehow, he'd not thought of it as really being that easy.

His chin dropped, "that does make sense," he admitted weakly. She was right.

"More importantly, what about Nii-sama," she asked suddenly, throwing him off balance.

"What about him?" Ichigo was baffled.

"I want you two to get along," Rukia said, her voice serious- no hint of a joke.

"We get along well enough," Ichigo groaned, really not wanting to be pushed into this.

"Not good enough- I want you to try harder," Rukia demanded, her voice shrill.

"No- that would be really weird and we might blow up Seireitei!" Ichigo argued back and quite justifiably as far as he was concerned.

They both froze, Rukia sighed, "fine, but if we ever decide to get married just remember, we need his permission," she said, letting him win the argument, but really he would have preferred to lose, when she gave him a closing like that.

Ichigo wanted to throw himself off a cliff right then and there. Byakuya would never let him marry Rukia, unless she was pregnant, and if Ichigo actually got her pregnant, he would never survive...

Ichigo should just throw himself off a cliff right now and save himself the agony that would await him in a few years time.

* * *

Toshiro found Momo in her rooms at the end of the day, he looked exhausted, and his blue eyes were flat- a sign that he'd been staring at the paperwork for too long.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Fine, just had a lot of thinking I needed to do," he murmured, finally looking at her for the first time since Unohana-taicho's words that afternoon.

"I thought so, but what about?" she asked.

"I never considered any of that stuff," he muttered a dark blush covering his cheeks.

"Should you have?" Momo queried.

"I don't like being ignorant," he said in a small voice, and she smirked- he hated being ignorant with a passion. He went out of his way to research things he thought he might possibly need, and studied with a vengeance when he found himself lacking in knowledge.

"I thought you were a little disturbed by all this," she said trying to keep her tone light.

"Perhaps a little- sorry for that," he admitted.

"It's okay. We are both new at this relationship and having a relationship in general. We aren't supposed to know everything, or get everything perfect first time," she said, her voice serious.

"I guess you are right," he agreed.

"Besides, it would be silly to rush in- shouldn't we just enjoy ourselves?" Momo said, finally getting the conversation into a light mood.

"I suppose now would be a good time to ask you if I can spend next week with you, and the week after, and the week after, and so on?" he asked casually.

Her breathe caught, because for the whole day it had been a shadow on her mind. They'd decided to spend the week together, but he'd never openly said that he wanted more than this week with her, implied it, but never said. She was so relieved that she surprised herself by starting to cry.

He grabbed her and hugged her, "Silly Momo, you thought I would let you go after this week," he laughed gently, "I'm not going to let you go, not ever," he said, and he kissed her gently, still laughing against her mouth.

She broke the kiss and sighed leaning against him; the words were so romantic, like nothing she'd ever thought he would say to her.

Unfortunately the mood did not last long- nothing romantic in Seireitei ever did. He was just leaning forwards to kiss her again when-

"DID YOU HEAR? THERE IS A BETTING POOL- BETS ARE BETWEEN HITSUGAYA-TAICHO AND KUROSAKI-TAICHO! WHICH ONE OF THEM WILL LOSE THEIR VIRGINITY FIRST!" one man yelled excitedly.

"I heard Matsumoto-fukutaicho and Ayasegawa-san are in charge of taking bets," another man said in a smaller, but no less excited voice.

It didn't take long for this to sink in, or for Toshiro's reiatsu to turn black and bitterly cold.

"MATSUMOTO!" Toshiro yelled, running off in her direction, leaving Momo to face the two eager, and now embarrassed, men.

She heard more yells on the other side of the Fifth Division Compound- apparently Kurosaki-taicho had found out about this too. It probably would not be too long until Kuchiki-taicho, and several others were also involved in this.

She sighed, the rebuilding of Seireitei had not been finished yet, chances were by the morning, there would be a lot more work to do. Some things in Seireitei would never change- the natures of the men within it were one of them. She pitied the Soutaicho.

The perfect end to a relaxing day at the beach was spending a night in the inn and having a massage. Yamamoto-Genryusai Shikegeni had been pampered at the inn, but he broke off reading a relaxing magazine to sneeze.

His fukutaicho fussed about him having picked up a cold, but the Soutaicho's eyes narrowed; he already knew what he would face the next day. He grabbed another pint and downed it within seconds, he really hated work-related romance; it always made his job so much harder.

**

* * *

**

All finished, I hope you enjoyed the conclusion to this piece, sorry if the tone changed a little, but I have not written this story for a while, I tried to write something that fit. Once again I really am sorry that it took this long!

**A big 'thank you' to everyone who reviewed, I really needed the encouragement.**

**Translation of Japanese Words:**

_Arigato-_ Thank you

_Ba-_ Grandma/Old woman

_Baka-_ Idiot

_Chan-_ a suffix indicating a close relationship, often used by girls and when addressing someone younger.

_Chibi-_ little/small

_Fukutaicho-_ Vice-Captain/Vice Unit Commander

_Hai-_ Yes/Correct

_Haori-_Hip/thigh-length kimono coat which Kyoraku Shunsui wears over the Shinigami uniform. Also the white coat that the taicho wear over their uniform.

_Imoto-_ little sister

_Kido-_ Ghost Magic

_Kokoro-_ Heart-Soul

_Kun-_ a suffix considered quite familiar, often used for addressing classmates and friends.

_Mou Hidoi-_ That's mean/rude

_Nei-_ hey

_Reiatsu-_ Soul Power

_Rukongai-_This is part of Soul Society outside of Seireitei, anyone not in Seireitei dwells here.

_Sama-_ honorific- generally means master/lord, used only in cases of high respect.

_San-_ a suffix considered polite, often used for addressing people who you don't know well.

_Seireitei-_The city in Soul Society where the Shinigami and nobility dwell.

_Shinigami-_ Death God

_Shunpo- _Flash Steps

_Soutaicho-_ Head Captain/Commander General

_Taicho-_ Captain/Unit Commander

_Zanpakto-_ Soul Slayer


End file.
